The Journey of Life
by annabellaa
Summary: Shelby Corcoran has finally found the daughter she has always longed for, but can she make up for lost time? And how will they cope as they set off together on the most difficult journey; the journey of life?
1. A step too far?

"Alright honey, I'm gunna go, I'll be back soon, give momma a kiss." Shelby planted a kiss on Beth's forehead before handing her over to Quinn. Almost immediately Beth started fussing.

"It's ok guys, she'll stop when I leave, I know she stops when I leave. Ok, I've got my iPod, my cell phone... Do you guys have my number?"

"It's right here on my hand!" exclaimed Puck with a smirk.

"We'll be fine, honestly. Have a good run," Quinn added.

"Okay great. Thank you guys so much for babysitting, I really appreciate it" Shelby replied as she grabbed her cell phone, iPod and an inhaler off of the worktop before heading towards the front door. By this point Beth was starting to scream and Puck was starting to think that maybe this wasn't such a great idea after all.

"If she keeps crying, try singing to her. She usually loves that" Shelby offered as she opened up the front door.

"Honestly don't worry, we've got this" Quinn remarked whilst staring at the blue L-shaped device that Shelby was holding in her left hand. In that instant, Quinn hatched another plan in her head, in addition to the one she had been thinking up for the past few days.

"Here, take Beth" Quinn asked Puck after Shelby had left. Beth was still crying, but as soon as Puck took hold of her she instantly settled.

"She likes me" Puck marveled, almost to himself. Quinn grabbed her purse and began pulling out a number of unusual items. "Why have you got hot sauce in your purse? Are you planning on cooking Mexican for dinner?" Puck questioned, half-jokingly but utterly confused.

"No you idiot! I'm going to put it in Shelby's cupboard."

"Why are you doing that? Have you gone mad? How do you know that Shelby wants hot sauce?" Puck replied, still very confused.

"It's not for Shelby." Quinn deadpanned as she pointed to the label on the bottle that clearly indicated that the bottle was meant for Beth. "It's illegal to give hot sauce to babies. I'm proving that Shelby is an unfit mother. First we plant the stuff, then we call child protective services." Puck just stared at Quinn horrified. "Surely that's a little extreme?" he questioned.

"Do you want to get our baby back or not?" Quinn replied as she deposited the hot sauce in Shelby's kitchen cupboard. " Yeah I do" Puck admitted seeming somewhat defeated. "But surely there's another way? Shelby's a good mom."

Quinn ignored him as she headed towards the bedroom. She placed some books about baby sacrifice into the bookshelf before glancing behind her to check where Puck was. He was still in the living room with Beth so Quinn decided now was her chance to put the second part of her plan into action. She scanned the room for Shelby's purse, seeing it in the corner beside the bed. Quickly, she rummaged through the purse until she found what she was looking for: Shelby's asthma pump.

Should she take it? Or was this going one step too far? Quinn questioned herself in her head. She didn't know anything about Shelby's asthma or how bad it was, but surely this was an opportunity too good to be missed? An opportunity for Shelby to experience some of the pain that Quinn had been experiencing since Shelby had taken her baby. Quinn could hear footsteps coming from the living room so she quickly grabbed the inhaler and placed it into her pocket before turning to see Puck stood in the doorway.

"What are you doing now?" he questioned suspiciously. "Nothing." Quinn replied. "Just looking to see if there is anything else we can use as evidence."

"I think you've done enough already Quinn. Like I said, Shelby's a good mom. I really don't like this."

"Well I really don't like somebody else looking after our baby, so this is what we have to do" Quinn responded, slightly agitated that Puck wasn't as supportive of her plan as she'd imagined. "We've planted the stuff, now all we have to do is call protective services and then they'll take Beth away from Shelby and give her back to us."

"Okay" Puck replied feeling somewhat dejected. He did really want Beth back, but he didn't want to hurt Shelby either.

..

The next afternoon at school, Quinn walked into the Troubletones practice to be greeted by a beaming Shelby. "Hey, thanks again for last night, I really appreciate it. Since having Beth I haven't had the chance to do anything for myself, so it was really great to get out and de-stress.

"No worries" Quinn replied with a forced smile before taking her seat towards the back of the classroom, grateful that Shelby hadn't seemed to notice any of the objects that she had planted. Now she just had to wait for social services to visit Shelby and discover the items. Then her daughter would be returned, back where she belongs. But first, it was time to stage the second part of her plan.

During rehearsal Quinn listened to numerous renditions of 'Candyland', which had been the group's set song for the week. None of them really struck her as very good, but to be honest she wasn't really paying much attention. Her mind whirred, thinking about what she was about to do. She didn't know if she could go through with her plan, or if it would even work. What if something went wrong? But then she thought back to last night, and those precious moments spent with Beth, and realized just how much pain Shelby had caused her, and how much she wanted Shelby to suffer.

After what seemed like an age, it was finally time for the group to work on some choreography. Quinn was dance captain, which meant that she could more or less choose what the Troubletones would work on each week. This week she made sure to choose a very high energy and intense number. After 30 minutes of putting the group through their paces, Quinn decided that judging by the look on everyone's faces, they'd had enough.

"Wow Quinn, you're a slave driver!" Mercedes exclaimed, still panting heavily.

"Jesus señorita that was muy intenso! I'm sweating" Santana said giving Quinn a wink.

"I have some deodorant in my purse if you want some?" Quinn offered innocently. "Cheers girl!" Santana responded happily.

"I'll have a bit of that too" added Brittany. "Sure" Quinn replied. Quinn walked over to her gym bag and grabbed the can of deodorant.

"Maybe it'll be better if you girls use that outside?" Shelby offered apprehensively. "Don't worry Shelby, we'll only use a little bit" Quinn replied, looking Shelby in the eye. Quinn threw the deodorant to Santana who sprayed a little before passing it on to Brittany. After Brittany had used it, it was passed back to Quinn who made sure to use more than enough, filling the classroom with the fumes.

"Bye Mrs. C" Brittany harped as the three girls left the classroom. "Bye girls" Shelby spluttered back, stifling a cough. Quinn smiled to herself as she walked out the door. Shelby coughed again as she could feel her chest getting tighter and tighter. She headed over to her purse, and started searching through it for the inhaler that she always kept stocked there just in case. Shelby rummaged frantically, getting more and more panicked when she couldn't find what she was looking for. It had to be in there; she never took it out. Shelby picked up the purse and emptied the contents onto the floor, desperately hoping to find the inhaler. But it wasn't there. Shelby's breathing was growing more and more labored, and her left hand was clutched against her chest in an attempt to relieve some of the tightness.

Outside, Rachel Berry was on her way to Spanish class when she heard the wheezing coming from the classroom to her right. Rachel was considerably early for class as usual so decided to stick her head around the door to see if everything was ok.

"Mom!" she screamed when she saw Shelby hunched over the desk and the contents of her purse scattered across the floor. "Are you ok? What's wrong?" Rachel questioned as she rushed over to Shelby, gently taking her hand and guiding her onto a chair.

"I…" Shelby paused to take another strained breath. "I can't breathe" Shelby finally wheezed out before breaking into another harsh coughing fit. Rachel's eyes widened, horrified by what she was seeing. Rachel could see Shelby's back muscles straining as she desperately tried to breathe.

"Hey Mom, look at me, it's gunna be ok" Rachel tried to reassure her mom. Shelby glanced up at Rachel, her panic evident in her tear-filled eyes. "I'm gunna go and get some help, I'll be right back" Rachel added, on the verge of tears herself. Rachel rushed out of the classroom and almost ran straight into Puck.

"Woah my little Jewish princess, why are you in such a hurry?" Puck questioned nonchalantly.

"Noah, thank god! I need your help, it's Shelby, she can't breathe." Hearing Shelby's name caused Puck to immediately pay attention.

"What?!" he exclaimed. Rachel grabbed Puck by the arm and dragged him into the classroom that she had just exited, where his eyes fell upon Shelby. She had tears streaming down her face, with her hand clutched against her chest, as she tried desperately to get some air into her lungs.

"Shit" Puck yelled as he sprinted over to Shelby and took hold of her hand. He could feel her shaking as he racked his brain trying to remember what he had learnt on that stupid first aid course he had be forced to do last year. "Beautiful, just try and take nice deep breaths for me" Puck soothed.

"Ca….Can't" Shelby managed to croak out.

"I know it's hard beautiful, but you have to try for me. Rach, open some windows." Puck shouted over to the tiny girl who appeared to be frozen in shock. Rachel snapped out of her trance and hurried to open as many windows as she could, whilst Puck sat willing a wheezing Shelby to breathe.

Suddenly it clicked. Shelby was wheezing. She must have asthma. Yes, it all made sense now; the inhaler he'd seen her pick up last night, the wheezing and severe difficulty breathing she was having now.

"You're asthmatic, aren't you?" Puck stated. Shelby nodded, with fear evident on her face. "Where's your inhaler?" Puck questioned. By this point, Shelby was so breathless that she couldn't get any words out, so instead she just shook her head. Noticing the contents of her purse on the floor, Puck quickly gathered that Shelby didn't have it with her, which he thought seemed a little strange considering she took one with her when she went for a run last night. Surely she would bring one to work with her as well?

"Ok, don't panic" Puck reassured her, gently rubbing her back in an effort to keep her calm. Rachel was horrified and couldn't believe what was happening. Since when did her mom have asthma? Why had she never told her? And now she was having an asthma attack and didn't have an inhaler on her.

"I'll run to the nurse" Rachel squeaked, already on her way out of the door. "She must keep a spare one in her office." Puck really hoped she was right.

"See beautiful, there's nothing to worry about. Rach is going to get you some medicine, which will help you breathe better, ok?" Shelby just stared back at Puck, clearly not convinced.

"Hey, do you trust me?" Puck questioned softly. Shelby nodded slightly. "Good, then you need to calm down and take some deep breaths for me. Everything's going to be ok, I promise. Help is on its way"

Rachel sprinted back into classroom carrying a little blue inhaler. "Here!" she exclaimed, thrusting it at Shelby. Shelby removed the cap, and placed the mouthpiece into her mouth, before pushing the canister down and trying to take a deep breath. After 30 seconds, she did the same again and took a second puff, as both Rachel and Puck watched on nervously.

"Is it helping?" Rachel questioned, still rather worried that her mother wasn't breathing properly. "A little" Shelby responded, before taking another dose. After what seemed like an eternity, Shelby's breathing finally returned to somewhat of a normal state. She was still a little wheezy, but at least she could actually breathe now.

"Thanks" she said gratefully, looking up at Rachel and Puck, who were still watching her intently.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Rachel responded, still worried sick. Shelby nodded.

"How come you didn't have your inhaler with you?" Puck asked gently.

"I don't know. I always keep one in my purse, and then a spare one at home. I honestly don't know where it's gone; I never take it out" Shelby responded shaking her head.

"It's ok Mom. Don't worry about it" Rachel said softly. "Let's just get you home."

"No Rach, I'm fine honestly. I still…."

"Don't you even start Shelby. You are clearly not fine. You could have died. I'm taking you home right now, and don't you even think about arguing with me. You need to rest." Rachel responded, utterly outraged that her mother had even considered staying at school for the rest of the day.

"My little Jewish princess has a point" Puck pointed out as he gave Shelby a cheeky smile.

"Fine" Shelby conceded, as she began to replace the contents of her purse that was still strewn across the floor. Once all of Shelby's things had been gathered, Rachel led her mom into the parking lot, where they got into Rachel's car and headed to Shelby's apartment.


	2. Tell the truth

**Hey y'all! Just wanted to say a little something before this next chapter. I honestly never believed that anybody would actually read this story, let alone be bothered to review it, so thank you! I don't know where this story is going, or how quickly I'll be able to upload new chapters, but please bear with me and stick with it.**

Rachel pulled into the parking garage at Shelby's apartment building and began getting out of the car.

"Rach, where are you going? Don't you need to go back to school?" Shelby questioned.

"No it's fine. Noah's covering for me. Besides, there's no way I'm leaving you like this."

"Like what?" Shelby retorted, slightly upset.

Rachel looked over at Shelby sympathetically, "Mom, you just had a severe asthma attack, and I can still hear you wheezing. There's no way I'm leaving you on your own. You need to stop being so stubborn and let me help you."

"I appreciate your concern Rach, but honestly I'm fine. This just happens sometimes, I can deal with it" Shelby responded almost pleadingly.

"You should know by now that you're not going to win an argument against me, so please just get out the car and let's go inside" Rachel said in a playful tone. Shelby allowed herself a small smile and then followed Rachel up to her apartment. After unlocking the door, Rachel ushered Shelby over to the couch before heading to the kitchen to make some coffee.

"Here" Rachel handed the mug to Shelby as she sat down next to her on the couch. "Thanks" Shelby nodded gratefully. The two of them sat silently for a while, until Rachel broke the silence.

"Why didn't you tell me you had asthma Mom? Rachel questioned suddenly. "Today when I found you, I had no idea how to help you. If it wasn't for Noah, you could have died."

"I just… It's just something I don't like to talk about Rach. I hate it; it makes me feel weak and powerless. How am I supposed to achieve anything if I can't even breathe properly?" Shelby responded quietly, with tears brimming in her eyes. Rachel looked lovingly at her Mom and wiped away a stray tear.

"Mom listen to me. Your asthma does not make you weak. You're the strongest person I know. And don't you dare say that you can't achieve anything! You're a national champion show-choir coach, and you have two wonderful daughters. If that isn't achieving something, then I don't know what is!?" The tears were falling freely down Shelby's face now, but she still managed to give Rachel a big grin.

"Come here" Rachel laughed, pulling Shelby into a hug.

"I love you" whispered Shelby gratefully.

"I love you too Mom" Rachel responded giving Shelby a peck on the cheek. "Now get some rest!"

..

A couple of hours later, Rachel was tidying round the house whilst Shelby was still sleeping peacefully on the couch. Shelby's positioning didn't look particularly comfortable, and Rachel pondered waking her in order to avoid her waking up stiff later on, but she decided against it. She should leave her to get some rest before Beth returned from daycare.

Rachel moved into the bedroom and started straightening up the books on the bookshelf, when something caught her eye. The spine of the book she had just straightened read: 'All you need to know about baby sacrifice'. Rachel's heart skipped a beat. Why on earth did her mom have a book on baby sacrifice? What was going on? Without thinking, Rachel whipped out her cellphone and called the only person she could think of…Puck.

"Yes my little Jewish princess" Puck stated joyfully as he picked up her call.

"Noah this is serious" Rachel responded flatly.

Puck's tone changed in an instant, "What is it?" he replied worriedly. "Is Shelby ok?"

"Yes Noah, she's fine. Well, at least I think she is. I don't know? I've just found a book on baby sacrifice in her bookshelf and I have no idea what to do. Why has she got a book about that Noah? Do you think she's going to hurt Beth? Should I call the police?"

Noah was dumbfounded. Rachel was never supposed to find the book. He needed to resolve this situation quickly before it got out of hand. "Whoa, whoa, whoa Rach. Slow down. Listen, I need you to do me a huge favor. You need to get rid of that book, and…"

"But" Rachel interjected.

"Rachel listen to me. This is important. Quinn planted the book there last night when we were babysitting. She wanted to make Shelby look like a bad mother. I should never have let her go through with it, I don't know what I was thinking."

"Noah how could you?" Rachel cried, before silently cursing, remembering that her Mom was asleep in the other room.

"I know, it was stupid. I'm so sorry. I'm going to come round. I need to come clean to Shelby. But I need you to get rid of that book now. And there's some hot sauce in the kitchen cupboard; that needs to go too" Noah said frantically, as he pulled on his jacket and headed into his jeep.

Rachel couldn't believe what she was hearing. How could Noah and Quinn do this? Being careful not to wake Shelby, Rachel grabbed the book before heading to the kitchen cupboard to collect the hot sauce. She silently made her way out the door and down to the trashcans at the base of the apartment building.

She re-entered the apartment to see that Shelby had woken up. "Hey Mom" Rachel smiled. Shelby looked a little confused as to why Rachel had just walked through the front door.

"Where have you been sweetie?"

"I just took your trash down; I thought I'd tidy the house a little whilst you were sleeping" Rachel replied sweetly.

"Thank you sweetie" Shelby responded gratefully. She took a glance at her watch and realized that she'd been asleep for over 2 hours. "Shit, is that the time?! I need to collect Beth from daycare." Just as Shelby was getting up from the couch, she heard a knock on the door. Still in a fluster from being late to collect Beth, Shelby hurried over to answer the door.

"Hi Shelby" Puck said in a somewhat subdued manner as she opened the door.

"Hi. Noah this really isn't a good time, I need to collect Beth from daycare, and I'm already late" Shelby responded flatly.

"I really need to talk to you, it's urgent."

"Noah now is not the time. I need to go" Shelby said, dismissing any more talk of the matter.

"Mom, I'll go and collect Beth. You should stay in and rest anyway" Rachel suggested.

"That's very kind of you sweetie, but you've already done enough for me today."

"No honestly Mom, I want to do it. I can refill your prescription on the way home as well" Rachel replied, knowing the reason why Puck needed to talk to Shelby so urgently.

Shelby finally gave in. "Only if you're sure Rach? Thank you." Rachel smiled sweetly, grabbing her coat and car keys. "No worries, see you shortly."

Shelby gestured at Puck to come in, before heading into the kitchen and pouring herself some water. "You want anything?" she asked, more out of politeness than anything else.

"No I'm good, thanks" Puck replied as he sat down on the couch. "How are you feeling now? You really gave us a scare earlier" he questioned as Shelby made her way into the living room.

"I'm ok" Shelby responded quietly. "Like I told Rachel, these things happen sometimes."

"Just make sure you have an inhaler with you next time" Puck said with a cheeky smile, although he was totally serious.

"Yeah" Shelby replied, giving him a slight smile.

Puck fidgeted slightly, before turning to address Shelby. "Anyway, I need to come clean about something. When Quinn and I babysat yesterday, she left a bunch of stuff around here that made you look like a bad mother. And then she called child protective services." Shelby just stared at him, horrified.

"But, I've gotten rid of it all" Puck added in a vain attempt to help rectify the situation. Shelby looked on the verge of tears. "I'm so sorry" Puck said as he moved closer to Shelby in an attempt to console her.

Shelby backed away. "Don't touch me" she exclaimed. "Why would you do that to me?"

"Quinn wanted to get Beth back, and I did too. But what we did was wrong, and stupid, and totally selfish. You're a good mom. You and Beth are meant to be together; you were always meant to be her mother." Puck mumbled resting his head in his hands. Shelby just stared at him in shock, wiping the tears that had started to fall. "I'm really, really sorry. We never wanted to hurt you Shelby."

"What if she did?" Shelby whispered.

Puck raised his head to look Shelby in the eye. "What are you talking about? What do you mean?"

"My inhaler. I never take it out of my purse. It would have been in there earlier. Unless somebody took it" Shelby said slowly coming to a realization as to what could have happened.

"No, she wouldn't do that. She couldn't do that" Puck shook his head in disbelief. But part of him could believe it. Yesterday, Quinn had been in the bedroom alone. And when he walked in, she was stood by Shelby's purse. No surely not, Puck thought to himself. "Listen, I'll go and talk to her. But I promise you if she did take it, I knew nothing about it. I would never ever do anything to hurt you" Puck added sincerely.

"I know" Shelby responded quietly. "I think you should go now."

Puck nodded and headed towards the door. "I really am truly sorry Shelby."

..

Around 30 minutes after Puck left, Rachel returned home with Beth. She found Shelby sitting on the couch, just staring into space. "Mom, you ok?" Rachel asked concerned.

"Sorry, yeah I'm fine honey. Just a little tired that's all."

"Well good job I picked up some dinner on the way home isn't it?" Rachel stated happily.

"Thank you sweetie" Shelby replied as Rachel set Beth in her high chair and started to dish out the food. They all sat down together and started to eat, although Rachel noticed that Shelby was playing with most of her food rather than eating it.

"What did Noah want?" Rachel asked innocently.

"Oh nothing important. He just wanted to say thanks for recommending him for a pool cleaning job" Shelby responded absently.

"Oh I see" Rachel said, realizing her mom clearly didn't want to talk about it. Beth started to whimper, sensing the tension around the table.

"Beth please, just eat your dinner" Shelby pleaded exhaustedly. Beth only started to scream louder and louder, so Shelby stood up and lifted her out of her high chair. "Come on sweetie please don't cry. Mommy needs a break" Shelby begged her one-year-old daughter, on the verge of tears herself. Rachel watched her mother closely, knowing she was on the verge of breaking down, most probably from exhaustion and the stress of the day.

"Here, let me take her" Rachel offered. Shelby didn't need a second invitation and practically threw Beth to Rachel, before running into the bedroom. Thankfully Beth settled almost immediately, so Rachel placed her in her playpen and carefully made her way over to the bedroom. She could hear Shelby crying behind the door.

"Mom?" Rachel questioned softly as she opened the door slightly. Shelby was sat on the bed with her head in her hands. Her body was shaking where she was crying so hard. "Mom, it's ok. I'm here" Rachel said as she made her way over to Shelby's side and gently started rubbing her back in an attempt to comfort her. The two of them sat for a few minutes before Shelby finally spoke.

"Do you think… I'm a bad mother?"

"No of course not!" Rachel was startled. How could her Mom think that?

"Because Quinn and Puck, they planted all this stuff in the house to make me seem like a bad mom, and then they called protective services, and they wanted them to take Beth. But I'm not a bad mom. Maybe I am. Maybe they were right. Maybe I should give Beth back"

"Mom! Stop please!" Rachel cried. Shelby was getting so worked up that she was starting to wheeze again. "Mom, you need to calm down. Try and take some deep breaths for me" Rachel urged as Shelby just continued to sob heavily, her breathing getting more and more erratic. Rachel leant over Shelby and grabbed the inhaler that was sitting on the nightstand beside the bed.

"Mom, you need to take this" Rachel said handing the inhaler to Shelby. She watched carefully as Shelby took the medicine and started to calm down. "You ok?" Rachel questioned, still concerned that her Mom was going to break down again.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I… I'm just feeling really overwhelmed at the moment. Toda…Today has just been too much" Shelby managed to get out, still feeling a little breathless.

Rachel nodded her understanding. "I get it. Today's been hard. But don't think for a second that that makes you a bad mother. Sometimes, I think you just need to admit that you need a little bit of help instead of trying to do it all by yourself." Shelby just nodded. She knew that Rachel was right, even if she didn't want to admit it. "Look, my dads are away for a few days, so instead of staying at home on my own, why don't I come and stay with you for a little bit?" Rachel suggested.

Shelby was slightly taken aback by the suggestion. "Rach I really appreciate you wanting to help me, but you don't have to do that."

"I want to Mom. Really I do" Rachel chirped happily, flashing Shelby one of her classic Rachel smiles.

"Okay sweetie, as long as you're sure" Shelby smiled back, pulling her daughter into a tight hug. "I'm so grateful to have such a beautiful daughter" Shelby swooned.

"And I'm so grateful to have such an amazing Mom" Rachel replied.


	3. Confessions

**Here's the latest update. I'm really not sure where the story is going to go from here, so any suggestions would be welcome! I have a little less time on my hands now, so I'm going to aim to update every 2 weeks. Hope you all enjoy!  
**

Puck glanced down at his cell phone as he sat on the McKinley bleachers, watching the football practice that was taking place. It was 10.11am; he'd agreed to meet with Quinn at 10am, and Quinn was never late to anything. Surely she hadn't bailed on him? Just as Puck considered leaving, he spotted the skinny blonde in the distance.

"You took your time" Puck quipped with a wry smile.

"I had to take a phone call" Quinn replied in a sincere tone. "It was child protective services, they're going round to Shelby's apartment later this evening."

Puck shook his head, "they won't find anything".

"What do you mean? We put the stuff there when we were babysitting you idiot!"

"Quinn, I went round to Shelby's and removed it all."

Quinn could feel the anger building up inside her. "You did what?!" she exclaimed. "Why would you do that?"

"It's not right Quinn. What you did isn't ok. Shelby's a good mom. I know you wanted to get Beth back, but we need to do what's right for our daughter. Beth is happy with Shelby, and she'll have a good life." Puck looked up at Quinn to find a vacant expression on her face.

"I know. I just don't even know what to do anymore" Quinn responded quietly. "I know Beth is much better off with Shelby, but I just can't let her go. I feel totally lost. I'm scared Puck, I've never felt like this before" Quinn added as tears started to roll down her cheek.

"Hey, come here." Puck gestured at Quinn to come closer and pulled her into a hug. "It's ok to feel scared Quinn. You've been through a lot these past few months."

"I just don't feel like myself anymore. I can't believe I did that to Shelby. The real me would never do something like that" Quinn said softly as she looked up at Puck.

"Maybe you should go talk with a doctor. I'll come with you if you'd like?" Puck suggested thoughtfully. "I've heard sometimes women get this thing after they've had a baby…"

"Postpartum depression" Quinn interjected.

"Yeah, that's the one. It's worth getting checked out Q, then hopefully you'll start to feel more like yourself again."

"For once in your life I think you might actually be right Puckerman" Quinn replied with a small smile. "Thank you" she added gratefully. Puck smiled back; this was going a lot better than he had expected. Now for the tricky bit.

"Q, there's one more thing I wanted to talk to you about" Puck said cautiously.

"What's that?" Quinn responded.

"Shelby had a really bad asthma attack the other day, and she couldn't find her inhaler. She told me that she always keeps one in her purse, but when she needed it the other day, it wasn't in there." Quinn bowed her head solemnly, knowing where this was going. She couldn't believe she had been so stupid. She reached into her backpack and pulled out the inhaler.

Puck was devastated, even though he knew deep down that it had to have been Quinn who had taken it. Puck shook his head, "she could have died Quinn".

"I know. I'm so sorry. I don't know what I was thinking" Quinn responded, tearing up again.

"It's not me that you need to apologize to" Puck said gently. "You need to go and talk to Shelby".

..

Later on that day, the Troubletones gathered in the choir room for their daily practice. Quinn offered Shelby a smile as she walked in, but Shelby wouldn't even look her in the eye. Quinn couldn't blame her really. Quinn sat quietly at the back, zoned out for the majority of the practice, until finally the bell rang signaling the end of class. Quinn waited for everybody else to leave before making her way over to the piano, where Shelby was organizing sheet music.

"Shelby?" Quinn asked tentatively.

"What is it Quinn? Shelby responded bitterly.

"I…I just wanted to apologize" Quinn started. Shelby turned around so that she was now looking Quinn in the eye. "I've done some really stupid things. And I'm so, so sorry" Quinn added reaching into her backpack and producing Shelby's inhaler. "Um, this is yours."

Shelby shook her head as she took the inhaler from Quinn. "I don't even know what to say to you. I can't believe you would do that Quinn" Shelby said, not quite sure what to say.

"It was so, so stupid of me, and I'm truly sorry. I wasn't thinking" Quinn breathed out slowly. "Honestly, I don't know what's been happening to me. All of these things that I've done, they don't feel like me at all."

"You need to get help Quinn" Shelby stated, straight to the point. " I think you should go and see a doctor or maybe even a therapist" Shelby suggested.

"I'm going to. That's what Puck said as well" Quinn replied.

"Good" Shelby responded flatly.

Rachel wanted to speak to her mom, and she knew the Troubletones had the choir room booked for their practice today. If she hurried, she'd just about make it over there in time. Rachel walked into the choir room, and stopped dead in her tracks. Standing in front of her were Quinn and her mom. She noticed that Shelby was holding her inhaler, and then it clicked.

"It was you!" Rachel screamed, startling Quinn and Shelby, who were both unaware of her presence. "You took it didn't you?" Rachel directed the question at Quinn even though she had no intention of letting the blonde answer. "How could you do that; she almost died because of you" Rachel yelled shooting daggers at Quinn.

"I…I…" Quinn mumbled.

"Rach, it's alright" Shelby started before being cut off by a seething Rachel.

"No mom, it's not alright! You nearly died. And it's all her fault." Rachel tried desperately to stop the tears that had started falling down her cheeks. She didn't want to cry, but she was so angry.

"Rachel, I already apologized to Shelby" Quinn protested.

Rachel was furious. "Sorry isn't good enough Quinn. You could have killed my mom. And all you can say is sorry!?"

"I don't know what else you expect me to do" Quinn shouted back before running out of the choir room. Rachel was about to follow when she heard her mom's voice.

"Leave it Rach. It's done now. She's apologized."

"But…" Rachel started, trying to wipe away her tears.

"But nothing" Shelby replied sternly. "That's enough. Quinn and I have resolved the issue. This ends here."

"You can't just forgive her like that; you almost died" Rachel protested.

"But I didn't die Rach. Besides, who said anything about forgiving her?" Shelby smiled at Rachel. "We may have resolved the issue, but that doesn't mean I've forgiven her. I don't know if I'll ever be able to forgive her for what she did."

"I certainly won't" Rachel responded sternly. Shelby just laughed, and pulled her daughter into a tight hug. "I'm being serious Mom. Why are you laughing?" Rachel moaned.

"You're like my own personal bodyguard" Shelby giggled.

"Hey! No I'm not" Rachel argued back, breaking into a small smile. "I just don't want to lose you again" she added quietly.

"You won't. I'll always be here for you Rach. I promise."

..

Later that evening, Rachel returned from school to find Shelby already home. "You're home early" Rachel remarked, wondering why Shelby wasn't still at school grading papers, or whatever it is that teachers do after school.

"It's been a long day" Shelby mused. "Besides, I was done for the day anyway. The only thing I have left to do is plan tomorrow's Troubletone practice." Rachel rolled her eyes upon hearing the name of Shelby's glee club.

"I don't know why we have to have two separate glee clubs anyway" Rachel said thoughtfully. "It just seems silly; neither of us have enough members to compete at sectionals. And besides, I'd much rather not have to compete against you."

"You could always come and join us?" Shelby offered, already knowing what her daughter's response would be.

"No chance!" Rachel laughed.

Shelby smiled. "I thought you might say that. It's true what you said though, we don't have enough members for sectionals, and neither do the New Directions. Combining the two clubs does make a lot of sense."

"Please talk to Mr Schue!" Rachel begged. "We'd have an awesome team, and it would be even better with you as co-director"

"I'll see what I can do" Shelby responded. "But I'm not making any promises."

"Thanks" Rachel grinned.

Beth had started to whine for attention, so Shelby leant into her playpen to pick her up. "What's up sweetie?" Shelby soothed gently. "Are you hungry?" Shelby looked over at Rachel questioningly, "How about you play with Rachel, while mommy makes some dinner?"

"Come on Beth, let's go and play with your toys" Rachel smiled as she took the little girl from Shelby's arms. Shelby mouthed thank you, as Rachel carried Beth over to her play mat. "You wanna play with this?" Rachel asked handing Beth a small cuddly dog. Beth smiled as she clutched at the dog, but she was more interested in Rachel's cell phone. "Oh, you want this instead?" Rachel chuckled, before passing the phone over to Beth. Rachel wasn't particularly possessive about her phone, and besides she couldn't see any harm in letting her baby sister hold it. It would keep her quiet after all.

Rachel watched on as Beth continued to fiddle with the phone, before trying to bite the corner. "Whoa, okay Beth we don't want to eat the phone" Rachel laughed, whilst gently sliding the phone from Beth's grasp. Beth looked as if she was about to start crying, so Rachel gently gathered her into her arms and walked towards the kitchen.

"I'm almost done" Shelby called over, sensing that Beth was getting impatient.

"It's alright" Rachel responded. "I'll get Beth settled into her highchair."

"Thanks Rach" Shelby smiled.

The three of them ate dinner together, before Rachel helped Shelby to tidy away. After all the dishes were done, Shelby picked up Beth before making her way over to the couch where Rachel was already settled. Shelby sat down on the couch next to Rachel and placed Beth between the two of them, silently hoping that she would fall asleep.

"Mom?" Rachel enquired.

"Yes sweetie"

"As lovely as it looks in here with pieces of crib all over the floor, don't you think it's about time to actually put it together?"

Shelby shot Rachel a glare, before letting herself smile a little. "Knock yourself out! I've been trying to put that thing together for days now, but when the only instructions it comes with are tiny, black and white pictures, it turns into quite a challenge."

Rachel tried unsuccessfully not to laugh. "Surely, it can't be that difficult?" she questioned cheekily.

"Like I said, go ahead" Shelby replied rolling her eyes. Shelby spent the next 20 minutes watching as Rachel tried, and failed to assemble the crib. "How's it going down there?" Shelby questioned, not even bothering to try and hide the massive grin on her face.

Rachel just glared back at her. "I'm getting there" she replied, as the two planks of wood that she had been holding together fell to the ground for what must have been the tenth time.

"It looks like it" Shelby responded sarcastically.

"Ok, well maybe it's a little bit more tricky that I expected, but I'm getting there" Rachel huffed. " I could always ring Noah? I'm sure he'll be more than happy to help?" Rachel suggested more out of hope than expectation.

"No!"

That had gone just about how Rachel had expected, but she wasn't giving up yet. "Why not? He's good at this sort of thing, and there's no chance of me and you doing it."

Shelby thought it over for a minute. Rachel did have a point; Puck would probably have the crib up in 10 minutes. But could she trust him? Rachel would be here after all; he wouldn't dare try anything with her around.

"Fine" Shelby replied reluctantly.

"Great, I''ll give him a call now" Rachel beamed happily.

"Why are you so keen for him to come over anyway?" Shelby questioned sensing the excitement in Rachel's voice.

"I'm not" Rachel replied defensively. "We just need to get this crib up, and Noah's the best person for the job."

"Ok" Shelby said chuckling to herself.

..

Half an hour later, there was a knock at the door. "I'll get it" Rachel chirped.

"I'm sure you will" Shelby said to herself.

"Hi Noah" Rachel said happily as she opened the door.

"Hey Rach" Puck replied. "Hi Shelby" Puck nodded.

"Hi" Shelby replied softly from the couch, where she was sat with Beth laying across her lap. Beth perked up when she heard Puck's voice, and started wriggling on Shelby's lap to try and see where it was coming from.

"Hey Beth" Puck said sweetly as he noticed that the little girl had turned to face him. "I'm here to help make my little princess a crib." Beth smiled as she heard Puck's voice.

"Can I hold her?" Puck asked Shelby carefully. Shelby wasn't sure, but could see Rachel nodding enthusiastically behind Puck.

"Sure" Shelby replied handing Beth to Puck. Beth's face lit up as she stared intently into Puck's eyes.

"Hey gorgeous" Puck cooed, gently bouncing Beth up and down. Beth started giggling, clearly enjoying being in Puck's company. Rachel looked on happily, very impressed at how good Puck was with her little sister. She didn't have Puck down as the paternal type, but Beth seemed to love him.

"Come on princess, let's give you back to mommy now" Puck said gently after a few minutes. "Your big sister and I have a crib to build!" Puck passed Beth back to Shelby, who nodded her thanks, before settling back down onto the couch.

Within 10 minutes, Puck and Rachel had successfully assembled the crib. "See, I told you I would do it" Rachel gloated to Shelby.

"Hey, I think you'll find it was me that did most of it" Puck interrupted, giving Rachel a nudge in the side.

"Not true!" Rachel shot back, giving Puck an even bigger nudge.

"Ok, that's enough you two! Shelby laughed. "I'm trying to get Beth to sleep, so I'd appreciate it if you could take your flirting elsewhere"

"We're not flirting!" Rachel almost shouted back, before being hushed by Shelby.

"Definitely not flirting" Puck added quickly.

"Whatever" Shelby responded, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, it's getting late now. Thanks for all your help Noah."

Puck took the hint and started gathering his things. "No worries. I'm always more than happy to help my favorite family."

"Yes, thank you Noah" Rachel said with a massive grin on her face. "See you at school tomorrow."

"See you!" Puck responded as he made his way out of the apartment.

Rachel waited for Puck to leave before turning to Shelby. "Mom, you're so embarrassing! I can't believe you said we were flirting. We were not flirting"

"It looked very much like flirting to me" Shelby laughed back as she made her way over to the newly assembled crib, carrying a sleeping Beth in her arms. Shelby gently laid Beth in the crib before placing her toy monkey next to her and planting a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"Well you were very much mistaken" Rachel responded, before breaking into a small smile herself.

"We'll see!" Shelby laughed.


	4. Family

"You're looking lovely this morning my little Jewish princess" Puck said with a cheeky smile on his face as he and Rachel walked to the auditorium for Glee club.

"You're not looking too bad yourself" Rachel replied, returning the cheeky grin. "I wonder why Mr. Schue has scheduled rehearsal in the auditorium?" Rachel pondered.

"Probably for another one of his 'big' ideas" Puck responded sarcastically. Rachel laughed as they entered the auditorium to find the rest of the New Directions facing off against the Troubletones.

"Um what are you all doing here?" Rachel questioned, glaring at Quinn.

"What does it look like? We're rehearsing Berry" Santana shot back.

"Hey, don't talk to her like that" Puck said defensively, moving closer to Rachel.

"Oh look at Puckerman sticking up for Berry" Santana jeered, drawing a laugh from the rest of the Troubletones.

Rachel was about to argue back, when she was stopped by the sound of a guitar and the unmistakable sound of her mom's voice.

 _It's been a long time since I came around,_

 _It's been a long time but I'm back in town,_

 _This time I'm not leaving without you._

Everybody turned quickly to see where the sound was coming from; and to their surprise they found that it was coming from their respective glee club directors. Rachel smiled as Shelby and Will continued their duet.

"Shelby sings just like you" Puck whispered to Rachel.

"No, Mom is so much better" Rachel replied, as she eased closer to Puck who was perched on a stall. Puck gently pulled Rachel down so that she was sat on his lap, and placed his hand on her waist. Shelby smiled as she saw the two of them out of the corner of her eye.

 _Nebraska, I'd rather die,_

 _Without you and I,_

 _We made it, you and I._

Shelby and Will took a bow as applause filled the auditorium. Rachel slid of off Puck's lap as they both stood up clapping.

"As lovely as that little performance was, what exactly was the point of it?" Santana remarked in her usual bitter tone.

"Well" Will replied. "With sectionals coming up, Shelby and I felt that some healthy competition would help to get the best out of all of you."

Shelby continued, "So we're going to have a mash-off. You'll both compete against each other, performing a mash-up of two or more songs."

"Awesome!" Brittany chirped happily.

"Prepared to get your asses kicked" Santana added, glaring at the New Directions.

"Bring it on!" Puck responded.

..

At the end of the day, Rachel was at her locker collecting some books, getting ready to go home, when Puck appeared beside her.

"Hey beautiful" Puck smiled gently rubbing Rachel's arm.

"Hey" Rachel smiled back. "Um, what are you up to tonight?" she blurted out.

"Nothing" Puck replied. "Unless you had something in mind?" he added quickly with a wry smile appearing on his face.

"Well…my dads are still away, so we could always go back to mine?"

"Sounds like a plan princess."

Rachel and Puck made their way into the parking lot and got into Rachel's car. "It's very pink in here" Puck noted, laughing slightly.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with pink!" Rachel protested.

"I never said there was" Puck responded. "You're so argumentative!" he added, knowing it would wind Rachel up.

"I am not!" Rachel exclaimed.

"I think you'll find you are" Puck said, still winding her up. Rachel just glared at him, and then they both started laughing. Before long, they pulled up on Rachel's driveway.

"Wow Rach, your house is huge" Puck exclaimed, totally shocked at the size of it. He knew Rachel's dads had a lot of money, but he wasn't expecting her house to be anything like this.

"It's too big really" Rachel replied modestly. "My dads are away a lot, so I'm here alone most of the time. It gets really lonely sometimes" Rachel admitted shyly.

"I bet" Puck agreed. "You know I'm always around if you ever fancy some company" he added cheekily.

"Thanks" Rachel laughed as she open the front door. As he stepped into the entrance hall, Puck realized that the house was even grander inside. A large, silver chandelier hung above his head, and the walls either side of him were covered in what he assumed was rather expensive art.

"Wow" he uttered, still in disbelief. As nice as the house was, it didn't feel much like a home. Puck was starting to understand now why Rachel seemed to spend so much time at school. Rachel grabbed a couple of snacks and some soda from the kitchen before showing Puck to her room.

Her room was exactly how he'd imagined. Pink walls covered in Broadway playbills; a neatly organized dresser; and then an elliptical trainer that seemed somewhat out of place at the foot of the bed. Rachel put a movie on before settling next to Puck on the bed, who gently placed his arm around her. The two of them sat peacefully for a few minutes, before Puck broke the silence.

"You really are beautiful Rach" he admired as he softly stoked her cheek. She turned to face him and smiled, her wide brown eyes meeting his.

"Thank you" she responded. Puck lent in slowly and placed a soft kiss on Rachel's lips. To his surprise, Rachel pulled away suddenly and leapt off the bed.

"I'm sorry Rach…" Puck started

"It's not you, don't worry" Rachel replied hastily. "I think there's somebody downstairs. One of my dads must have come home early. They'll go crazy if they see you here." Rachel was starting to getting visibly panicked now, so Puck stood up and moved closer to her.

"Hey, relax. We'll just say that we're working on a project together for Glee club. Everything will be fine" Puck assured her calmly.

"Noah you don't understand. My dads…" Rachel started before being cut off by the sound of her bedroom door flying open.

"Rachel!" her dad screamed. "What the fuck is going on here?! Why is there a boy in your bedroom?" Rachel edged further and further backwards until she was nearly pressed against the wall. Puck watched on curiously, trying to figure out why Rachel seemed so terrified.

"We were just…" Puck began to say before being immediately cut off by Rachel's dad.

"Was I talking to you? You need to get out of my house. NOW!" Puck didn't know what to do with himself. He considered arguing back; there was no way he was going to be spoken to like that. But then he glanced over at a cowering Rachel who nodded her head slightly, signaling for him to go. Puck grabbed his coat and left in silence. Once outside he sent Rachel a message:

 _Message me when you can beautiful x_

"What do you think you were doing young lady?" Rachel's dad enquired angrily.

"We…we were just rehearsing" Rachel pushed out slowly.

"If I find out you've been lying to me Rachel, there will be big trouble" her dad screamed back. Rachel's eyes filled with tears as she bowed her head.

"I'm not" she sniffed.

"And I ever see that boy again, you'll wish that you were never born. Both of you." Rachel's dad slammed the bedroom door before marching back down the stairs. Rachel just sat on her bed and cried. She glanced at her phone and saw the message from Puck. Still in tears, she typed out her reply:

 _I'm ok x_

Puck's response was almost immediate:

 _Rach, you're definitely not ok. Why would you let your dad treat you like that? You don't deserve to be spoken to like that Rach. You're worth so much more than that. Call me? x_

Reading Puck's reply just caused Rachel to cry even more. As much as she wanted and needed to talk to Puck, she knew that she couldn't. Her dad would go mental if he heard her on the phone.

 _I can't talk now. I'm sorry x_

Despite not liking spending most of her time at home alone, Rachel hated it even more when her dads were home. The only time they ever spoke to her was to moan about something she'd done or to complain that she wasn't doing well enough at school. Rachel thought back to the few days she'd spent at Shelby's. She'd felt so happy when she was there; she felt loved, and as if she were a part of something.

Rachel glanced up at the clock. It was 6.30pm. Her mom should be at home now. Without really thinking, Rachel stuffed some clothes into a duffel bag and picked up her school backpack, before silently making her way down the stairs and out of the front door. Her dad was watching TV at the other side of the house, so didn't notice her leave. Rachel quickly threw her stuff into her trunk and started up the car.

..

The traffic in Lima was awful at this time of night, so it took Rachel 30 minutes to get to Shelby's apartment. By the time she'd arrived, she'd calmed down a little, but her eyes were still bloodshot from crying. As she made her way up to Shelby's apartment, Rachel pondered what she was going to say to her mom, before deciding that it was best just to tell her the truth. Rachel knocked on the door, desperately hoping that her mom would be in.

"Hey mom" Rachel said as Shelby opened the door.

"Hey sweetie" Shelby replied. "Is everything ok?" she added after noticing all of Rachel's bags.

"Um.. do you mind if I stay with you tonight" Rachel asked as tears started to fall down her cheeks.

Shelby's heart melted as looked at her daughter. "Of course not sweetheart. You're welcome here anytime."

"Thanks" Rachel choked out as Shelby pulled her into a hug. Shelby ushered Rachel inside before making her way into the kitchen to grab a drink.

"Did you want anything to drink sweetie?" Shelby asked gently.

"Just some water please" Rachel responded quietly as she placed her bags down and sat on the couch. Shelby noticed that Rachel was fiddling nervously with her hands as he made her way over to the couch. She handed Rachel a glass of water before taking a seat next to her.

"So do you want to tell me what's going on?" Shelby enquired cautiously. Rachel didn't even know where to begin. There was so much that she wanted to tell Shelby; that she needed to tell Shelby, but she wasn't sure if now was the right time.

"Ur…" Rachel stared blankly for a second before responding. "I don't really know where to start" she answered truthfully.

"It's ok Rach, just take your time" Shelby encouraged.

Rachel took a breath before continuing. "My dads and I, we've never really been…urm…close. Ever since I was little, I've always felt as if I didn't belong there. As if I was just a burden to them. As if they only loved me because they had to." Rachel paused to wipe away a stray tear.

"And then as I've gotten older, things have only gotten worse. We barely talk anymore since we have nothing in common; and no matter what I do, nothing is ever good enough for them." The more Rachel spoke, the more Shelby felt responsible for her pain. It was her fault that Rachel was in this situation; she should never have given her up.

"Rachel, I am so, so sorry" Shelby replied.

"You don't need to apologize Mom. It's not your fault."

Shelby was heartbroken. "It is though Rach. I should never have left you with them." This is why Rachel hadn't wanted to tell Shelby; she knew how sensitive she was, and she knew she'd blame herself.

"Mom, stop. Don't blame yourself. None of this is your fault." Rachel placed her arm comfortingly around Shelby. "Neither of us can change what's happened."

"I wish I could. Even before you were born I regretted signing that contract. I regret it even more so now" Shelby said solemnly. There was still more that Rachel needed to tell her mom, but she decided that it could wait. She didn't want to hurt her mom anymore today.

"I'm really sorry mom. This is why I didn't want to tell you; I knew it would hurt you. But just know that the day that I met you was honestly the best day of my life and I love you so much." By this point Rachel and Shelby were both crying.

"I love you so much too Rach" Shelby sniffed. "And I promise I'll never leave you again. Ever." Shelby added, pulling Rachel into a hug. Rachel sat quietly in her mom's arms for a while before she finally broke the silence.

"Are you sure you don't mind me staying here?" she questioned.

"Of course not! You can stay here as often as you like sweetie" Shelby smiled.

"Thanks. I just feel so much happier when I'm here." Rachel replied gratefully. "I feel like I can just be myself, and still feel loved here."

"You'll always be loved here Rach. I love you. Beth loves you. And if I had to take a guess, I'd say Noah loves you too!" Shelby added cheekily.

"MOM!" Rachel exclaimed.

"What? I saw you two earlier when Mr Schue and I were singing" Shelby laughed. Rachel lowered her eyes in embarrassment.

"That reminds me, I need to call Noah. Do you mind?" Rachel asked softly.

"Go ahead sweetie. Has something happened?" Shelby asked curiously. Rachel realized that in her state earlier, she had totally forgotten to mention the reason why she'd ended up on Shelby's doorstep.

"Oh yeah. I totally forgot. That's the reason I ended up here tonight. My dad went mental because he came home and found Noah in my room." Rachel blushed with embarrassment. "Nothing happened though!" Rachel added quickly.

"Oh." Shelby said slowly. "As far as I'm concerned Rach, you're old enough to make your own decisions when it comes to boys."

"Ok mom. Let's just save this conversation for another day please" Rachel giggled, not sure where to look.

"Ok baby. I was about to cook some food. Did you want anything?" Shelby asked. Rachel smiled, glad for the change of subject.

"Sure. I'll have whatever you're having. Thanks."

"No worries sweetheart. I'll give you a shout when it's ready" Shelby responded, giving Rachel a smile.


	5. Running from the past

Rachel made her way into Shelby's spare room, chucking her bags down in the corner. She was planning to unpack them later, but for the moment, she had an important phone call to make. She closed the door gently behind her, being careful not to make too much noise since Beth was sleeping. Rachel sat down on the bed and picked up her cell phone. She stared at the screen for a few minutes contemplating what exactly she was going to say to Puck. As much as she wanted to tell him everything, she knew she had to be careful because Shelby was in the next room and the last thing Rachel wanted to do was hurt her mom anymore today.

Rachel carefully dialed Puck's number and took a deep breath. Puck answered almost immediately, his voice full of worry.

"Rach! I've been so worried about you. Is everything ok?"

"Don't worry Noah, I'm fine. I'm at Shelby's at the moment" Rachel replied in a slightly shaky voice. Puck wasn't convinced.

"Are you sure you're alright? How come you're with Shelby? Your dad didn't do anything did he?" Puck asked anxiously.

"Honestly Noah, I'm ok. I just couldn't stay there tonight. But no, he didn't do anything. Not this time." Rachel sniffled a little, trying to hold back her tears.

"Not this time?!" Puck exclaimed. "What is that supposed to mean?!"

"Listen Noah. A lot of stuff has happened in the past." Rachel said slowly. "But I can't talk about it now. Shelby's in the next room and I don't want to risk her overhearing. I'm not ready to tell her about this yet. I've already hurt her enough today."

"Rach, you're scaring me. You need to tell me what's going on. Please" Puck pleaded.

"I know, and I promise that I will. Just not here; not now. I have a free period after glee club tomorrow. We can talk then."

Puck knew that there was no point arguing with Rachel. Once she had made up her mind, there was no point even trying to change it. "Ok Rach. But just promise me that you're safe?"

"Noah, please don't worry. I'm going to stay with mom tonight. I'm so sorry, but I promise I'll tell you everything tomorrow" Rachel responded, just glad that Puck was so understanding. "And I'm so sorry about how my dad spoke to you tonight. It was totally out of order."

"It's ok, I understand. I'm just so relieved that you're ok. I've been so worried about you" Puck admitted.

"Thank you Noah. See you tomorrow" Rachel replied sweetly.

"See you tomorrow beautiful."

Rachel smiled as she put her phone down. She felt so grateful to have Puck in her life. After years of feeling alone and isolated, she felt so lucky to finally have somebody she could talk to. She knew that tomorrow would be hard; she'd never spoken about this to anybody. But she knew that she could trust Puck. Despite some of his other more questionable qualities, there was no denying that Puck was loyal. And deep down, Rachel knew that she needed to tell somebody; her past had been haunting her for years, and this was her chance to finally let it go.

..

Rachel got a lift into school with Shelby the next morning, and the two of them made their way straight to the auditorium, ready for the 'mash-off'.

"You know I probably shouldn't be talking to you since you're the opposition!" Rachel said looking up at Shelby with a cheeky grin on her face.

"You better watch it little one, just remember who's taking you home tonight. It's a long walk back to my place" Shelby retaliated. Rachel laughed, she knew exactly how to wind her mom up.

"I'm joking mom! Although we're definitely going to smash you guys in this mash-off." Shelby just glared at Rachel before breaking into a smile.

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure."

When they entered the auditorium, Shelby made her way over to where the Troubletones were sitting, whilst Rachel headed over to join the rest of the New Directions.

Puck caught hold of her arm. "Hey! Is everything alright?" he questioned quietly, making sure he wasn't overheard.

Rachel gave him a smile. "Yeah, I think so" she said softly. "I'll speak to you after this" she added, motioning at Mr. Schue who looked like he was ready to make a speech.

"Ok Rach" Puck responded.

"Welcome everybody! As you all know, today is the day of the first McKinley mash-off" Mr. Schue said enthusiastically. There was a small ripple of applause, before he continued. "I know you've all been working hard on your numbers, so without further will do. First up: the New Directions!"

The New Directions took to the stage and performed a mash up of two old songs, with costumes to match, clearly very heavily influenced by their director, Mr. Schue. Santana and Mercedes watched on with raised eyebrows, feeling very confident that they had this mash-off in the bag. Even Shelby allowed herself a small smile at her competitors' rather odd song selections. There was a polite applause at the end of the New Directions performance, before Shelby stood up and introduced her group.

"Well, after that rather interesting performance, it is my pleasure to introduce the Troubletones!"

"We've got this" Santana said to Brittany as they made their way onto the stage.

Even Rachel had to admit that the Troubletones' performance of an Adele mash-up was markedly better than theirs. They'd picked current songs, and had included up to date choreography, which was more than could be said for the New Directions. As much as Rachel admired Mr. Schue for his dedication to the glee club, she knew that the New Directions needed Shelby's expertise if they were going to have any chance at winning nationals this year.

"Bravo!" Mr. Schue announced proudly. "I hope that this little competition has served as motivation for you all to work even harder as we prepare for sectionals next week."

"But Mr. Schue, neither of us have enough members to compete at sectionals" Rachel interrupted.

"Urm.. well yes Rachel" Mr. Schue admitted. Shelby could see where Rachel was going with this, so she stepped in.

"Rachel has a point. But look around. There's 14 of you on this stage, which is more than enough to compete at sectionals."

"No chance" Santana said bluntly. "We are not joining with them."

"Nope" Mercedes shook her head.

"I don't have a problem with it" Finn said shrugging his shoulders. "We'd make an awesome team."

"Yeah" Puck said in agreement. "And think about it. Our chances would be so much better with Shelby as co-director. No offence Mr. Schue!" he added.

Brittany had been listening carefully to the whole conversation and felt like she was ready to say her piece. "I'm in!" she declared cheerfully.

"Britt!?" Santana exclaimed.

"What?" Brittany replied. "Finn and Puck are right. We'd have an awesome team! You want to win something this year, don't you?" Brittany asked Santana with pleading eyes.

Santana rolled her eyes. "Fine."

Mr. Schue rubbed his hands together excitedly. "Is everybody in agreement?" he questioned. Everybody nodded. Mr. Schue smiled, taking Shelby by the hand. "Well then on behalf of myself and my co-director, welcome to the new, New Directions!"

..

After practice for the new combined glee club was over, Rachel and Puck stayed behind in the auditorium, waiting for everybody else to leave. Once Kurt and Blaine had finally left Puck made his way over to Rachel, taking her by the hand. "So…you want to tell me what's going on?" Puck questioned gently. He could see that Rachel's mood had changed; a few minutes ago she was excited and happy that the glee clubs were reuniting, but now she appeared anxious and vulnerable. "Hey, perhaps it's best if we sit down?" Puck suggested. Puck guided Rachel towards the chairs, before sitting down next to her. Rachel took a deep breath before beginning.

"My fathers and I have never been particularly close. Ever since I can remember, they've never really been interested in me; it's as if I'm a burden on them." Rachel paused briefly to collect her thoughts before continuing. "We used to argue a lot, but that's all it was: arguing. As I got older, my dad would get more and more angry, and would scream abuse at me." Rachel looked up at Puck, who placed his hand soothingly on her leg, knowing where this was going. "And then one day, he hit me" Rachel finished, as tears began to fall down her cheeks.

Puck had expected this, but that didn't take away from the shock of hearing it come from Rachel. He didn't know what to say. "I'm so sorry Rach."

"It happened again and again, but I was so scared. I had nowhere to go. I had nobody" Rachel choked out as she began sobbing harder.

Puck pulled her into a hug and just held her. "It's ok Rach, you can stop now" Puck reassured her, knowing that this was difficult for her. "Rach look at me" Puck said gently. Rachel raised her eyes so that they met Pucks. "None of this is your fault, and I promise you that they will never touch you again. I'll make sure of it." Rachel really wanted to believe him, but the abuse had been going on so long that she couldn't see how it could ever stop.

"How Noah? They control me. I can't leave" Rachel cried.

"That's not true. You don't have to go back there Rach. I'm not letting you go back there" Puck stated firmly. "You can stay with me, or Shelby." Hearing Shelby's name snapped Rachel out of her silence.

"You can't tell her Noah, please. It will destroy her. I can't do that to her" Rachel pleaded.

"Rach, I'm not going to tell her anything. But you need to. Maybe not now, but she needs to know. The sooner you tell her, the easier it will be; for both of you." Rachel knew that Puck was right, but she needed to wait for the right time.

"I know" Rachel said quietly. "But not now."

"That's fine beautiful. It's completely your decision as to when you feel ready. But you're not going back to your dads, I'm not allowing it."

"I can't just leave Noah. I have nowhere to go" Rachel protested.

"Of course you can. I'm more than happy to have you stay at mine, and I'm sure Shelby would be too" Puck said. "Besides, I think it will be good for you and Shelby" he added thoughtfully.

"Mom did say I was welcome anytime" Rachel pondered with a slight smile. "But I don't think she was anticipating it being permanent" Rachel chuckled. Puck smiled, happy that Rachel was cheering up slightly.

"She'd be thrilled to have you living there; I'm sure of it!" Puck insisted.

"I'll speak with her later" Rachel smiled. "And thank you Noah."

Puck waved a hand. "No worries!"

"No honestly, thank you. For being there for me, and for listening. It means so much" Rachel replied sincerely.

"Anytime" Puck said, giving Rachel a peck on the lips.

..

Rachel met Shelby in the parking lot after school was over.

"Hey sweetie" Shelby said cheerfully when she saw Rachel waiting by her car. "Are you coming back to mine today or do you want me to drop you at home?"

"Urr…Would it be alright if I came back to yours?" Rachel asked hesitantly.

"Of course sweetheart" Shelby said giving her a warm smile as she got into the car.

Once they'd arrived home, Rachel decided that now was the best time to ask her mom. "Mom, could I talk to you for a sec?"

"Sure Rach. What's up?"

Shelby watched as Rachel nervously played with her hair. "Urm.. do you think that I could maybe stay her a little while longer?" Shelby laughed.

"Rach I already told you, you're always welcome here."

Rachel gave her mom a nervous smile. "Maybe permanently?" she added hopefully. Shelby was taken aback; she hadn't been expecting that.

"Ur… yeah of course you can sweetie. If you're sure that's what you want?" Shelby questioned, unsure where this was coming from. "What about your dads?" Shelby saw Rachel's expression change.

"I don't want to live with them anymore. I can't" Rachel said starting to well up. Shelby moved over to her daughter and placed her arm gently around her. She knew there was something that Rachel wasn't telling her, but she wasn't going to push her. Rachel would tell her when she was ready.

"That's ok sweetheart" Shelby said gently. "As long as you're sure this is what you want to do, then it's fine by me."

Rachel smiled. "Thank you so much Mom!"

"No problem baby."

..

Later that evening Rachel was in Shelby's spare room, unpacking the things that she had brought over yesterday. She knew that she'd have to go back to her dads to collect the rest of her things, but she had enough stuff to last her a few days. Rachel heard Shelby coughing slightly as she opened up the front door, coming back from the park with Beth. "You alright Mom?" Rachel called out.

"Yeah, I'm fine sweetie" Shelby replied, brushing her off. "I've just got a bit of a dry throat that's all."

"I'll get you a glass of water" Rachel said hurrying into the kitchen.

"Thanks" Shelby said softly as Rachel handed her the water, before bending down to unbuckle Beth from her stroller.

"Hey Beth" Rachel smiled as she picked the little girl up and span her around. Beth started screaming and giggling. "Did you have a nice time at the park with mommy?" Rachel asked. Beth made some more gurgling noises before looking over at Shelby and smiling. Rachel kept her baby sister occupied for the next half hour whilst Shelby sat quietly on the couch.

"Are you sure you're ok mom?" Rachel questioned as she made her way over to the couch carrying Beth in her arms. "You're really quiet."

Shelby coughed gently before turning to look at Rachel. "I've just got a slight headache Rach. It's nothing serious" Shelby said waving her hand dismissively. "I think I'm going to go and take some Tylenol" Shelby added before turning to cough again.

"That's probably a good idea" Rachel smiled as she settled onto the sofa with Beth. Shelby picked up the glass of water and headed into the bathroom. She opened the medicine cabinet and took a couple of Tylenol tablets before taking a puff of her inhaler. Shelby knew she was starting to get sick because her chest was feeling tight, but she hoped that the medicine would do the trick and that she'd wake up feeling better in the morning.


	6. Shelby's sick

**Just a quick note to clarify since people have questioned it: this story is set today (2018). Rachel is 18 and was born in 1999, making Shelby 19 when she had her. Enjoy!**

Rachel woke up early the next morning, and decided it was the perfect opportunity for her to do some yoga. She still had two hours before she needed to leave for school, so she quickly changed into some yoga pants and cleared some space next to the bed.

After 30 minutes of yoga and another 30 minutes getting herself ready for school, Rachel was surprised that she hadn't heard her mom get up yet. Shelby had to drop Beth at daycare before heading to McKinley, so Rachel figured that she'd need to leave the house in around 40 minutes; and she wasn't even awake yet. Rachel quietly made her way into her mother's room to find that she was still asleep.

"Mom" Rachel whispered gently. Shelby didn't respond, so Rachel moved closer to the bed and gently nudged her mom's arm. "Mom" Rachel said again a little more loudly this time.

Shelby stirred before eventually opening her eyes. "What's up sweetie?" Shelby replied hoarsely, coughing slightly.

"Mom, it's just gone 8." Rachel replied, studying her mom a little more closely. "Are you ok?" Rachel asked concerned. "You don't look too well".

Shelby groaned. "I think I must just be coming down with a cold" Shelby admitted wearily, rubbing her head.

"Perhaps you should stay in bed today?" Rachel suggested.

"No Rach. I'll be fine once I've gotten up" Shelby replied, dragging herself out of bed. She made her way unsteadily over to the bathroom and starting getting ready as Rachel watched on. Rachel knew her mom was sick, but she also knew that Shelby was just as stubborn as she was, so there was no point arguing with her.

"Fine" Rachel conceded, still concerned about her mom. "I'll start getting Beth ready for daycare" she added as she headed out of her mom's bedroom.

"Are you sure Rach? I don't want you to be late" Shelby croaked.

Rachel winced at the sound of Shelby's voice. "Mom try not to talk too much. And it's fine, I'm all ready for school."

"Thank you baby" Shelby replied gratefully.

Rachel found Beth already awake when she entered her room. The little girl was sat up in her cot and smiled when she saw Rachel enter. "Hey princess" Rachel cooed as Beth started to giggle. "Come on, let's get you some breakfast" Rachel said as she picked Beth up and snuggled her in her arms. Beth started to play with Rachel's hair as they made their way into the kitchen. Rachel placed Beth into her high chair before quickly opening a rather unappetizing looking jar of baby food and spooning it into a bowl. Since they were in a hurry, Rachel decided it would be best for her to feed Beth herself, hoping to avoid the usual mess that Beth got herself into during meal times.

After she'd finished breakfast, Rachel took Beth into the bathroom to give her a wash. Rachel grimaced as she heard Shelby coughing again.

"Mom are you sure you're ok?" Rachel questioned as she placed Beth down and started to wet a washcloth.

"Yeah" Shelby blew out, before turning to cough again.

"You really don't sound ok Mom" Rachel said carefully, not wanting to upset her. "I really think it would be best if you stayed home today; you can barely talk." Shelby knew that Rachel was right, but she hated being sick and didn't want to admit that she was. "Please Mom. You need to stop being so stubborn and take care of yourself" Rachel added.

"Ok sweetheart" Shelby whispered.

"Thank you" Rachel smiled. "Will you be ok to take Beth to daycare or do you want me to do it on the way to school?"

"No, I'll manage Rach. Thank you though" Shelby responded as she bent down to pick Beth off the floor.

"Ok Mom." Rachel could have guessed what Shelby's response was going to be. Even if she didn't feel well enough to take Beth, she would have taken her anyway. Her mom was stubborn like that.

"She's had some breakfast and a wash, so she's almost ready to go" Rachel added sweetly.

"You're a lifesaver! Thanks Rach" Shelby smiled warmly.

Rachel smiled back. "No worries. I'm going to head off now. Try and get some rest, and call me if you need me, ok?"

"Of course sweetie. Thank you."

..

Rachel returned from school later that day to find her mom in the kitchen preparing dinner. She noticed that her inhaler was uncapped on the worktop.

"Are you alright Mom?" Rachel asked worriedly. Shelby nodded and gave Rachel a smile. "Is your asthma bothering you?" Shelby cursed in her head as she realized that she'd left her inhaler out. There was no point trying to hide it now.

"A little" Shelby admitted quietly. "It's nothing to worry about Rach, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Rachel questioned.

"Yeah" Shelby smiled reassuringly. "My chest is a little tight, that's all."

Rachel eyed her mom suspiciously, knowing that she was probably feeling worse than she was letting on. "Do you promise you'll tell me if you get any worse?"

"I will do sweetie. Honestly don't worry, I'm fine" Shelby replied, before coughing slightly. Rachel raised her eyebrow. "I'm fine!" Shelby laughed. "How was school today?" Shelby asked casually, desperate to change the subject.

"It was ok" Rachel replied, knowing exactly what her mom was trying to do. In all fairness, her mom didn't sound too bad, so Rachel decided to drop it. "We started preparing the set list for sectionals" she added excitedly.

"You did?" Shelby enquired. "What have you guys come up with?"

"Well, that's the thing. Mr. Schue wants us to sing old classics again" Rachel sighed. "That's why we need our co-director back, so that she can overrule him!"

Shelby laughed causing her to cough slightly. "You guys are wasted singing old songs. You need to sing something current, or even something original. I'd love to see a group perform original music" Shelby said enthusiastically.

Rachel smiled. She loved how passionate Shelby was about glee club. "That's why you need to get better pronto so you can work your magic and change his mind" Rachel replied cheekily.

"I'll try my best" Shelby said giving Rachel a wink, before turning to cough again.

"Anyway mom, I told you to rest" Rachel said sternly. "I'll finish making dinner." Shelby rolled her eyes, but didn't bother to argue. She made her way over to the couch and sat down. Within a few minutes she had fallen asleep. Rachel finished prepping dinner and had just placed it in the oven when she heard Beth start to whimper. She headed into Beth's room and scooped her little sister into her arms.

"Hey little one" Rachel said softly as Beth began to settle down. "Beth we have to be really quiet because mommy is sleeping" Rachel whispered, putting her finger to her lips. Beth gurgled and started giggling. Rachel rocked her gently before placing her down on the floor. Beth started crawling around playing with her toys so Rachel decided to sit down on the floor and check her phone. She had a message from Puck.

 _Hey baby. What you up to tonight? x_

Rachel smiled before tapping out her reply.

 _Hey! Not a lot. Mom's still sick so I'm just keeping an eye on her and Beth. x_

Beth crawled over to Rachel and started trying to grab her phone. Normally Rachel wouldn't mind giving it to her, but she was waiting for Puck to reply. "Hold on Beth" Rachel said gently, stroking her sister's hair. Luckily Puck didn't take long to respond.

 _Well if you need any help, you know where I am! I hope Shelby feels better soon x_

 _Thanks! I'll keep that in mind x_

Rachel glanced at the time and realized that dinner was almost done. She carried Beth into the kitchen and placed her in her high chair, before heading over to the couch where her mom was still asleep.

"Mom" Rachel said gently. Shelby opened her eyes and stared groggily at Rachel for a few seconds. "Mom, dinner's almost done." Shelby rubbed her eyes, before starting to cough.

"Are you ok?" Rachel asked as Shelby's eyes started to water where she was coughing so hard.

"Yeah." Shelby coughed again. "Yeah, I'm good thanks Rach" Shelby said taking a deep breath.

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Thank you" Shelby smiled.

The three of them ate dinner together before Shelby took Beth into her room to get her ready for bed. Rachel cleaned away the dishes before heading into Beth's room to see how they were getting on. Beth was kicking up a fuss and kept wriggling around, trying to avoid getting into her baby grow. Rachel could see that her mom was starting to get a little breathless, so she made her way over to Beth and started softly playing with her hair. This distracted her enough so that Shelby could finish getting the baby grow on.

"Thanks" Shelby muttered gratefully, giving Rachel a small smile. They made their way into the living room and switched on the TV before settling onto the couch. After 20 minutes Beth had finally fallen asleep, so Shelby picked her up and gently placed her into her crib before retuning to the couch.

"Mom, you look exhausted" Rachel noted as Shelby sat back down. "Perhaps you should have an early night?" she suggested.

"I think that's a good idea" Shelby smiled, getting up from the couch and heading into the kitchen to grab a glass of water. "See you in the morning sweetie."

"Night mom." Rachel replied. "I hope you feel better. And shout me if you need anything" Rachel added, giving her mom a hug.

"Thanks" Shelby responded as she headed into her bedroom.

..

A couple of hours later, Rachel was sat in her room doing some school work. Shelby had been coughing on and off since she'd gone to bed, but her latest fit didn't sound like it was stopping any time soon. Rachel stood up and carefully made her way into Shelby's room. Shelby was sat up in the bed, holding her inhaler in one hand and rubbing her chest with the other.

"Mom, are you alright?" Rachel asked, concern evident in her voice. Shelby shook her head slightly as Rachel sat down next to her on the bed. "Just try and take some deep breaths mom. You're gunna be ok" Rachel said softly, trying to reassure her. Shelby took another two doses of the inhaler as Rachel rubbed her back gently in an effort to keep her calm.

After 10 minutes of trying to catch her breath, Shelby knew that she needed help before things got out of hand. "Rach, I think….I need to…go to the… to the ER" Shelby managed to get out breathlessly. Rachel knew this was serious. Her mom never asked for help or made a fuss, so the fact that she was asking to go to the ER meant that she was really struggling.

"Urm ok. Yeah of course" Rachel replied in a panic, jumping up off the bed. "Shall I call 911?"

Shelby shook her head. "No. I'm not…that bad"

Rachel was getting stressed now. She'd never seen her mom this sick before. "Mom are you sure?!" Shelby just nodded. "Right ok. Just wait there. I'll go and get Beth ready quickly and then I'll grab you a coat."

"No" Shelby wheezed out.

"No what?!" Rachel responded, getting slightly worked up. "Mom we are going to the hospital."

"Not Beth." Shelby said, not wanting to wake Beth.

"Mom, we can't leave her here!" Rachel exclaimed. "Actually, you know what, I'll call Noah. He can watch her. Is that ok?" Shelby nodded, before starting to cough again.

"Ok. Mom just relax, everything's going to be alright" Rachel said in an attempt to calm herself down more than anything. She pulled out her cellphone and quickly dialed Puck's number.

"Hey beautiful" Puck answered.

"Hey. Noah this is an emergency. Shelby's really sick and I need to take her to the ER. Is there any chance you could come and watch Beth?" Rachel said quickly.

"Urm, yeah sure. Of course Rach. I'll be right over."

Puck arrived within 10 minutes. As he entered he saw Shelby heaving on the couch. "Jesus. She's really sick" Puck said quietly to Rachel.

"I know. Urm we need to go. Beth's asleep at the moment. Thank you so much Noah."

"No worries" Puck responded, before turning to Shelby. "Everything's going to be ok" he added giving her a small smile. She nodded before being guided out of the door by Rachel.

..

Luckily the traffic wasn't too bad so it only took 15 minutes for them to reach the ER.

"Please help me!" Rachel cried as she entered the reception area. A nurse looked up at Shelby and quickly hurried over to them.

"My name's Olivia" she said sweetly. "Can you tell me what's going on?"

"My mom's sick and now her asthma is really acting up" Rachel said hurriedly.

"Ok honey, try not to worry. Your mom's in good hands" the nurse replied, placing a hand on Rachel's shoulder. "What's your name?" the nurse asked looking up at Shelby.

"Shelby."

"Ok Shelby. Follow me and we'll get someone to take a look at you, ok?" Olivia said softly, as she gently took hold of Shelby's arm and led her into a private room. She helped Shelby onto the bed before turning to Rachel. "I just need to ask you a couple of questions."

"Sure" Rachel nodded.

"Firstly, what's your mom's date of birth?"

"September 22nd, 1980"

Olivia smiled. "Ok, and you said that she was having trouble with her asthma. Has she taken anything for it?"

"Urm yeah." Rachel responded reaching into her purse and pulling out Shelby's inhaler. The nurse took a look at the inhaler and jotted something down onto her notes.

"That's great. Thank you honey. Try not to worry, a doctor will be in shortly" Olivia said. Seconds later a tall, dark haired doctor appeared in the doorway.

"Hi. I'm Dr. Wilson, but please call me Tom. What do we have?" he questioned turning to Olivia.

"This is Shelby. She's 37 years old and having difficulty breathing. She's asthmatic and has taken an albuterol inhaler, but her symptoms aren't improving."

"Ok, thanks." Tom turned to Shelby. "I'm just going to pop this on your finger and then take a listen to your chest. Try and relax for me." The doctor attached an oxygen monitor to Shelby's finger, before lifting her top slightly and placing a stethoscope onto her back.

"Ok, I need you to try and take a deep breath for me Shelby." Shelby did the best she could. "Ok, and again for me please" the doctor added. Shelby took another breath in. "That's great. Thank you" Tom smiled.

"Olivia could you get me a nebulizer set up please" Tom called over to the nurse, before turning back to Shelby. "Your oxygen sats are quite low, and you're sounding very wheezy, so I'm going to set you up on a nebulizer which should help you to breathe better." Shelby nodded. "Have you used one before?" Tom questioned. Shelby allowed herself a small smile and nodded again.

Rachel watched on quietly as Tom placed a mask over her mom's face. She felt totally overwhelmed and utterly helpless. Her mom had a cold; she shouldn't be in the ER.

"Is it getting easier to breathe?" Tom asked Shelby gently. Shelby smiled and nodded. "Ok, that's good. Just stay relaxed, you're doing really well" he added.

Tom looked over to Rachel. "Hey, she's going to be fine. Try not to worry" Tom said reassuringly. "You can sit with her if you like?" he suggested. Rachel smiled slightly and moved to sit next to Shelby, who placed her hand on Rachel's shoulder. Shelby could tell that Rachel was upset and she felt bad for not warning Rachel that this could happen.

Tom turned to Rachel. "Do you mind if I ask you a few questions so we can try and figure out what caused your mom's attack today?"

"Ur, yeah sure" Rachel replied.

"Has your mom been always been asthmatic?" Tom asked as Olivia handed him Shelby's notes and a pen. Rachel had no idea; she'd only met her mom for the first time a few months ago.

"Urm…" Rachel turned to Shelby for guidance. Shelby nodded her head. "Yes she has."

"Ok. Have you got any idea what might have caused an attack today? Tom asked.

"She's sick. She said that she had a cold, but she's been coughing a lot" Rachel replied.

"Yes, that definitely could be a trigger" Tom said nodding his head. "Once the breathing treatment has finished, I'm going to get a chest x-ray just to rule out a pneumonia" he added whilst scribbling something down. "Has your mom ever been hospitalized before due to her asthma?"

"I…urm… I don't know" Rachel said, feeling somewhat embarrassed. She should really know these things about her mom.

"It's ok. Don't worry" Tom said, seeing that Rachel was getting a little stressed. He turned to Shelby who nodded. "How many times?" the doctor asked.

"Around 5 or 6, maybe more?" Shelby said through the mask. "I don't remember exactly." Rachel's eyes widened; she hadn't realized that her mom's asthma was so bad. "Not recently though" Shelby added.

"Ok, no worries." Tom replied. "I assume you're already taking preventative medication?" Shelby nodded again, "Advair".

"Great, thanks" Tom said jotting it down.

..

Meanwhile, back at Shelby's apartment, Puck was pacing around the living room trying to keep himself busy. He was really worried about Shelby, and Rachel too; he'd never seen somebody look that sick before. He nervously checked his cell, only to find there was still no news. He contemplated messaging Rachel but then decided against it as he knew she probably wouldn't have a chance to check her phone. Instead he decided to check in on Beth, so he quietly headed over to her room and peered his head around the door. Puck saw that she was restless, so he bent down and scooped her up from the crib. Beth started to whimper louder as she opened her eyes, unsure of what was going on.

"Hey princess, it's ok. Don't cry" Puck soothed gently, causing Beth to look up at him. Upon recognizing Puck she settled slightly, although she still seemed upset. "Mommy and Rach have just had to pop out, but they'll be back soon" Puck said softly, giving Beth a smile. Beth rested her head against Puck's shoulder, and looked as though she was starting to drift off to sleep, so Puck rocked her gently. Within a couple of minutes Beth was sound asleep again, so Puck gave her quick kiss on the forehead before placing her back in her crib.

..

Shelby was feeling a lot better now after her breathing treatment. Tom had had to rush off to another patient, leaving Rachel and Shelby alone waiting for Shelby's x-ray results.

"I'm sorry" Shelby said suddenly.

Rachel looked lovingly up at her mom. "Don't be silly. It's not your fault" she said gently.

"I know, but I should have told you that I might end up in the ER" Shelby replied. "My asthma always gets bad when I'm sick" Shelby added quietly.

"Mom, it's ok" Rachel said softly. "I know you don't like to talk about it, and I respect that. You could have warned me how serious your asthma was though; at least then I would have been more help as opposed to spending most of this evening in shock" Rachel laughed.

Shelby rolled her eyes at her daughter's dramatic account of events. "You were great Rach. And honestly, it isn't that bad anymore; it was a lot worse when I was younger."

"Is that why you were in hospital so much?" Rachel asked curiously.

Shelby nodded sadly. "Yeah. That and the fact that my parents tried to deny that I was sick. They told me I was making it all up, and so I never had any medication when I was little."

Rachel was horrified. "Mom that's awful. I'm so sorry."

"It wasn't until I left home when I was 17 that I finally got my asthma under control. I guess that's part of the reason why I don't like to talk about it" Shelby said quietly. Although it was hard to hear her mom talking about it, Rachel was grateful that her mom was starting to open up to her.

Rachel shuffled closer and wrapped her arms around Shelby. "I love you Mom."

"I love you too sweetheart."

Tom returned a few minutes later with the x-ray results. "Good news, you don't have a pneumonia." Shelby smiled. "But you are suffering with a nasty chest infection, and coupled with your asthma, that's why you've been having a hard time breathing" Tom added. "I'm going to prescribe you some antibiotics to help fight the infection and then a short course of steroids just to help your lungs whilst you're fighting the infection."

"Thank you" Shelby said gratefully.

"Do you need any of your inhalers refilled?" Tom asked.

"No, I'm good for the moment. Thanks" Shelby replied.

"No problem. Take care of yourself. And if you get any more problems, make sure to come straight back and see us"

"Don't worry, I'll make sure she does!" Rachel said, flashing Tom and her mom a smile.


	7. I'm leaving

Puck checked his phone again for what must have been the hundredth time that night. It had been over 2 hours since Rachel and Shelby had left for the hospital and there was still no news. He decided to drop Rachel a text:

 _Hey babe. Is everything ok? How's Shelby doing? x_

Seconds later, he received Rachel's reply:

 _Noah! I'm so sorry I didn't message; things have been a little crazy. Mom's a lot better now, we should be home shortly. x_

Puck breathed a sigh of relief, before typing out his reply:

 _No worries beautiful. I'm so glad Shelby's feeling better. See you both soon x_

Just over 20 minutes later, Rachel and Shelby arrived back at Shelby's apartment. Puck could see that Shelby was looking a lot better than she was when he had arrived there almost 3 hours earlier.

"Noah, I'm so sorry for all the hassle." Shelby said apologetically. "It's almost 1am, you must be exhausted."

Puck gave Shelby a warm smile. "Don't be silly! You don't need to apologize. How are you feeling now?"

"A lot better than earlier" Shelby laughed. "Thank you so much for watching Beth" Shelby added, gently hinting that it was time for Puck to leave. Rachel picked up on the hint before Puck, and turned to her mom.

"Mom, it's nearly 1. Couldn't Noah stay here for the night?" she questioned, knowing she was pushing her luck. Shelby's eyes widened, she was taken aback by the suggestion. "Ur…I don't…"

Puck could tell that Shelby wasn't keen on the idea, so he quickly intervened, not wanting to get Rachel into any trouble. "Honestly, don't worry about it Rach. I was about to head home anyway" he insisted. "There's nothing like sleeping in your own bed!" he added jovially. Shelby let out a sigh of relief, pleased that she had avoided that difficult situation.

"Ok" Rachel said a little dejectedly. "Thank you so much for coming over Noah!"

"Yeah, thanks again" Shelby added, before coughing a couple of times.

"No problem! I'm just glad that you're ok" Puck replied, giving Shelby a smile. "I'll see you at school tomorrow Rach."

"See you tomorrow Noah" Rachel smiled, giving him a wave as he made his way out of the apartment. Rachel turned around to see her mom glaring at her. She lowered her eyes. "I'm sorry" she muttered.

"Next time, please try and give me some warning before inviting somebody to stay the night" Shelby responded, with a hint of agitation in her voice.

"I know. I'm sorry mom, I wasn't thinking. I shouldn't have put you in that situation, especially not when you're sick."

Shelby gave Rachel a small smile. "It's ok. It's been a long day" she said wearily. "I think I'm going to try and get some sleep."

"That sounds like a good idea!" Rachel replied. "Are you going to be ok?" Rachel added, with a touch of concern in her voice.

"Hopefully. The nebulizer should keep my airways open for the next few hours at least" Shelby said gently, before seeing the worried expression on Rachel's face. "Don't worry, I'll shout if I need anything" Shelby assured her daughter.

"Are you sure?" Rachel questioned, still worried that her mom was going to have another attack.

"Yes! Honestly try not to worry sweetie. I have my inhaler if I need it" Shelby responded, giving Rachel a reassuring smile.

"Ok. Goodnight Mom."

"Night sweetie."

..

A few days later and Shelby was back at McKinley, starting to feel a little better thanks to the medication she had been prescribed, although she still had a nasty cough. "Hey" she said softly as she saw her daughter entering the choir room alongside Puck.

"Hey Mom!" Rachel smiled as she made her way over to sit down. Rachel stopped when she noticed Quinn sat in the bleachers. "What is she doing here?" Rachel snapped rather loudly.

Shelby placed her hand gently on Rachel's shoulder. "She's still a member of the New Directions sweetie."

"But…" Rachel protested. "After what she did to you…"

"Rach, I've already told you. Quinn apologized for what she did, and that's the end of it" Shelby said sternly, before turning away to cough. Rachel was about to argue back when Puck gently took a hold of her arm.

"Come on babe. Just leave it" he said calmly. "You don't have to speak to her." Rachel scowled at Shelby before turning and following Puck to the opposite side of the bleachers from Quinn.

"What was all that about?" Will asked, making Shelby jump slightly as she didn't realize he was standing behind her.

"It was nothing" Shelby responded quickly, giving Will a stern look. Will decided it was best not to ask anymore questions, so instead set about addressing the class.

"Welcome everybody! I'm sure you're all delighted to see that we have Miss Corcoran back with us." Shelby gave a small smile, and looked over to see that Rachel was still glaring at her. "As you all know, we're currently preparing our set list for sectionals. So, does anybody have any suggestions?" Everybody remained silent, knowing that the only suggestions that Mr. Schue would entertain were songs from about 30 years ago.

Since nobody looked like they were going to offer any suggestions, Shelby took it upon herself to step in. "How about we write our own songs?" she suggested. Will shot round with a horrified look on his face.

"With all due respect Shelby, don't you think you're setting the bar slightly too high with that suggestion?" Will asked quietly, but not quietly enough since most of the Glee club heard him.

"What are you trying to say?" Santana snapped. "We could write some kick ass songs." The rest of the glee club nodded in agreement.

Will held his hands up. "That's not what I meant" he protested. "Sectionals is in 4 days time; we simply don't have the time to come up with and then rehearse original music."

"Of course we do" Shelby laughed, causing her to cough slightly. "Vocal Adrenaline could have a piece of original music written and ready to perform within 12 hours. Besides, I'm sure there will be somebody in here who's already written a song or two" she added, glancing over at Rachel. Rachel lowered her eyes to avoid Shelby's gaze, still angry about their earlier disagreement.

"Actually, I've written a couple" Blaine said shyly. "We could easily rearrange one to make it suitable for sectionals." Shelby looked at Will with a smug look on her face.

"I have a few songs as well" Rachel added.

"Of course Berry has some songs" Santana sneered.

Puck immediately went into protective mode and turned to Santana. "Leave it out, she's trying to help" he snapped. Rachel smiled at him and he gently rubbed her arm.

Shelby could sense the tension starting to build, so quickly turned to address Blaine. "Do you think you could give us a little taste of one of your songs?" she asked sweetly.

Blaine nodded. "Sure." Will was completely flabbergasted. He'd had the perfect plan in his head. The New Directions would perform some classic show-choir numbers with some simple but stylish choreography, and they'd run away with sectionals. Now, it seemed that they were going to write, rehearse, and choreograph three original songs in just 4 days. Will knew that Shelby was an experienced show-choir director, but working with the kids from Vocal Adrenaline and the kids from the New Directions were two completely different things. He turned to Shelby, giving her a questioning glance. "Are you sure about this?" he whispered.

Shelby smiled back. "Of course!"

Shelby and Will both took a seat in the bleachers, whilst Blaine readied himself by the piano. Shelby glanced over to Rachel, who had her eyes trained straight ahead, avoiding eye contact with her mom. Shelby sighed, before turning back to focus her attention on Blaine who was playing the intro to his song. As the song progressed, Will could see the potential. He had to admit, the song was quite catchy. He could definitely see this working at sectionals. Maybe original music wasn't such a bad idea after all. Will was snapped out of his trance by the sound of Shelby coughing beside him.

"Everything alright?" he questioned quietly, seeing the Shelby was getting a little flustered.

"Yeah, excuse me" she said as she stood up. She picked up her purse, before turning towards the door. Rachel glanced over towards her mom when she heard her coughing. She started to worry when she noticed that Shelby was breathing quite heavily.

"You ok?" Rachel mouthed as she caught her mom's eye. Shelby nodded and gave Rachel a small smile, before heading to the restroom to sort herself out. Rachel contemplated going after her, but knew that her mom wouldn't want to make a scene, so she stayed sat next to Puck, resting her head on his shoulder.

Shelby returned a couple of minutes later, just as Blaine was finishing his song.

"Bravo! Bravo!" Mr Schue cried. "I have to say Blaine, I wasn't a fan of this original music idea, but that was excellent. I can definitely see that working at sectionals." A few of the other New Directions were nodding in agreement. Blaine gave them a small smile. "Thanks everyone!" he said gratefully.

Rachel made her way quietly over to Shelby as the rest of the Glee club started working on arranging the song for sectionals. "Are you alright now?" she asked softly.

"Yeah, I'm fine sweetie" Shelby replied, giving Rachel a smile. "I'm just fed up with this bloody cough" she added with a sigh. Rachel felt for her mom; she could tell that she was still struggling.

"Maybe you should go back to the doctor?" Rachel suggested thoughtfully, as her mom coughed again.

"There's nothing they can do Rach" Shelby sighed, taking a deep breath. "Are we alright?" she questioned suddenly.

Rachel raised her eyebrow, before laughing a little. "Of course we're alright! I just wasn't expecting to see Quinn earlier; I guess it took me by surprise. I'm still angry about what she did" Rachel explained. "I'm sorry if I upset you."

Shelby smiled, relieved that her and Rachel weren't on bad terms. "I understand why you're still angry at Quinn, but you've got to let it go. Life's too short to hold grudges sweetie."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "I know Mom, but it's hard when she nearly killed you!"

Shelby laughed. "You're so dramatic Rach!" This caused Rachel to laugh as well.

"I wonder where I get that from?" she questioned cheekily. Shelby didn't have an answer to that, so she just shook her head at Rachel. "Definitely not me!" she laughed.

The New Directions spent the next two hours working on their first original song for sectionals before deciding to call it a night. Rachel waited for Shelby, and the two of them left the choir room together.

"Mom, I'm going to pop over to my dads' house on the way home to collect the rest of my stuff" Rachel said as they made their way into the parking lot.

"Ok sweetie. I'll see you a little bit later then" Shelby smiled.

..

Rachel pulled up outside her dads' house 25 minutes later and cautiously made her way towards the front door. She still had a key, but she wasn't sure whether to use it or whether it would be best to knock instead. After all, she hadn't seen or spoken to her dads in well over a week. Before she could make her decision, the door flung open at force.

"So you've finally realized that she doesn't want you then?" her dad said sourly.

"I don't know what you're talking about" Rachel said, which was partially the truth.

"Shelby. She never wanted you Rachel."

Rachel wasn't exactly expecting a welcoming response from her dads, far from it in fact, but she wasn't expecting this either. She was speechless. She never told her dads that she was staying with Shelby, so she wasn't sure how they found out. She opened her mouth to speak, but her dad cut her off again.

"All she wanted was money. That's all you were to her Rachel; a paycheck."

"You have no idea!" Rachel protested. "She loves me." Her dad just laughed in her face.

"If she loves you, then why are you standing on our doorstep?" he questioned sarcastically. This time it was Rachel's turn to feel smug.

"Because, I'm moving out. Permanently. I've come to collect the rest of my stuff" she said defiantly.

"Oh have you now?" her dad laughed. "We'll see about that" he said, grabbing Rachel forcefully by the arm and dragging her into the house before slamming the door behind her. "Do you think that we're just going to let you walk out after we've spent the past 18 years looking after you?" he snarled. Rachel tried to pull away from her dad, but he had a tight grip on her arm. "DO YOU?" he screamed. Rachel shook her head. "ANSWER ME!" he shrieked.

"Nnn…No" Rachel said quietly, lowering her head.

"Good" her dad responded dryly. "Now I suggest you go to your room and take some time to think about the amount that we have had to sacrifice for you." Rachel sprinted up the stairs once her dad had released her from his vice-like grip. She ran into her bedroom and shut the door behind her, before collapsing onto her bed. She rolled up her sleeve to examine her arm, to find that it was already starting to bruise where her dad had been holding her so tightly. She knew that she had to get out of there, but she had no idea how. Her dads would be on high alert, so the chances of her being able to sneak out without them noticing were very slim.

Rachel began to pack everything she could into her suitcase, placing the remainder of her things into a holdall that she was grateful to find in the back of her cupboard. Despite her best efforts she couldn't manage to squeeze all of her things into her bags, so some of her things had to be left behind. Once everything was packed, Rachel sat down on the bed trying to figure out her next move. She contemplated climbing out the window, but the jump down was too far and she'd didn't want to hurt herself. Instead she decided to try and make it out of the front door. Rachel slipped the holdall onto her shoulder before picking up the suitcase, and making her way silently down the stairs. She paused briefly at the bottom of the stairs to readjust the position of the suitcase before continuing towards the door. Just as she was about to open the door she felt a hand press down hard on her shoulder.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?!" her dad shouted, full of rage.

"I'm leaving!" Rachel screamed back, shocking herself with the force of her response. She reached towards the door handle, managing to open the door slightly. But before she could get away, she felt the force of a cold, hard hand across her face.

"You'll regret this" her dad snarled. Rachel ran towards her car, and slammed it into reverse. She took one last glance at the house where she had spent all of her miserable childhood before speeding off down the road. Once she had reached a safe place to stop, Rachel pulled over to the side of the road, no longer able to contain her tears. She lifted a shaky hand to her face to wipe away the tears, to find that she was bleeding. She took a look in the mirror and realized that her dad must have hit her quite hard; she had a cut above her left eyebrow, as well as a bruise already starting to form next to her eye. All Rachel wanted was to go home to Shelby's but she knew that doing so would lead to her mom finding out about the abuse. Rachel pondered her options for a few minutes; she could always spend the night with Puck? In the end she decided that it would hurt her mom more if she chose to spend the night with some guy that she was kind-of dating as opposed to just telling Shelby the truth.

Rachel tried to clean up her face the best she could before driving slowly towards Shelby's apartment. The whole drive was a daze, and before she knew it, Rachel was standing at her mom's doorstep. Rachel took a deep breath; she had no idea how she was going to explain this to her mom. A good five minutes must have passed before Rachel gently knocked on the door. A few seconds later Shelby opened the door, carrying Beth on her hip. Her eyes widened in horror as she saw the state of Rachel.

"Rach! What happened?" she gasped.


	8. The past is in the past?

Rachel opened her mouth to respond, but nothing came out. Shelby hurriedly placed Beth into her playpen before gently taking hold of Rachel's arm, causing her to yelp in pain when Shelby touched the bruise that her father had caused earlier.

"Rachel, what happened sweetie? I thought you were going to your dads to collect your things? I don't understand?" Shelby said in a fluster as she guided Rachel into the apartment. Rachel had known that it would be difficult telling her mom about the abuse, but she hadn't realized that it would be quite this hard. Being face to face with her mom, and seeing the worry in her eyes made everything a hundred times harder.

"I…I…my dads…" Rachel stammered, choking on her words.

"Rachel, I don't understand. Please just tell me what's going on" Shelby begged.

Rachel took a deep breath, before trying again. "I went to…my dads…"

Shelby ran a hand through her hair as she came to the realization as to what had happened. "Your dads…they did this, didn't they?" Rachel just nodded and burst into tears. "Rachel, I'm so, so sorry." Shelby shook her head in disbelief; she couldn't believe this was happening. She gently wrapped her arms around Rachel and just held her, hoping that her daughter could find some comfort in her arms. The two of them stood silently for a couple of minutes, before Shelby finally spoke.

"Sweetie, are you hurt anywhere else?"

"Not really" Rachel sniffled. "My arm… it's a little bruised. Nothing serious" she pushed out slowly.

"Let me take a look sweetheart" Shelby said softly as she helped Rachel to remove her jacket. Shelby's mouth fell open when she saw the size of the bruise. It covered most of Rachel's forearm and was in the shape of a hand. "Rachel this is not ok" Shelby exclaimed as she started to become angry. She was angry about what had happened; how could anybody do this to an innocent girl? But she was angrier with herself for letting it happen. It was her fault; she should never have left Rachel with the Berry's all them years ago.

"I'm sorry" Rachel cried, thinking that she had upset her mom.

"No Rachel. Look at me. You have nothing to be sorry for. None of this your fault, and you don't deserve any of this, ok?" Shelby said guiltily, realizing she hadn't done a very good job at hiding her anger. Rachel shuffled nervously and stared down at the floor. "Sweetheart, look at me please" Shelby pleaded. Rachel slowly lifted her head until she made direct eye contact with her mom. Shelby carefully raised her hand and gently wiped the tears from Rachel's eyes. "I promise you that you will never have to go through what you went through tonight ever again. I'm going to make this right, but I need to know everything sweetie."

Rachel nodded, finding some comfort in her mom's words. "I just need to get some water" Rachel said softly.

"Of course sweetheart" Shelby replied, coughing gently.

Rachel sat down next to Shelby on the couch and looked up shyly at her mother. Shelby placed a hand comfortingly on her back. "Take your time baby."

Rachel sighed heavily. "Dad has a temper. Both of them do actually, but Hiram is a lot worse. When I was little, they used to scream abuse at me, but they never touched me." Rachel paused briefly, and wiped away a stray tear before continuing. "One day when I was 9 years old, we were arguing about something. I don't remember what it was, but we were really arguing. I could see him getting angrier and angrier, and then it happened." Shelby gently took hold of her daughter's hand as tears began to form in her eyes. "He…he grabbed me by the wrist and pushed me to the ground" Rachel sobbed. "It only got worse from therert."

Shelby felt as though somebody had put a knife through her heart. Learning that her daughter had been subjected to years of physical abuse was not something that she had ever prepared herself to hear. The daughter that she was supposed to protect had had to endure years of suffering at the hands of these terrible people; the same terrible people that she had left her daughter with 18 years ago. Shelby didn't know how to comfort Rachel. Nothing that she could say would ever be enough. Nothing would ever be enough to take away Rachel's pain.

Rachel felt somewhat relieved now that she had finally told her mum; it felt as though a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. But at the same time, she felt awful. She felt guilty in fact. She knew how sensitive her mom was, and she knew just how hard it would be for her to hear about the abuse. Rachel was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of Shelby coughing heavily. Especially when she was sick. Rachel cursed herself in her head for not thinking about that earlier.

"Mom, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have told you; I was being selfish" Rachel said with a panicked expression on her face.

"Don't be ridiculous Rach!" Shelby replied, horrified at what her daughter had just said.

"But you're sick mom. You shouldn't have to deal with this as well" Rachel protested.

"Rachel, stop" Shelby stated firmly, having recovered from her coughing fit. "I'm fine. You need to stop worrying about me for the moment." Rachel wasn't convinced but she nodded anyway.

"I know how hard it must have been for you to talk to me about this, but I am so grateful and so proud that you were able to find the courage to tell me. Don't ever feel like you need to apologize; none of this is your fault." Shelby paused briefly to clear her throat. "I promise you that from now on, I will always be here for you, and that I will always protect you" she added, looking Rachel in the eye.

Rachel gave Shelby a small smile, before her mom pulled her into another embrace. "Thank you" Rachel whispered as she rested her head on her mom's shoulder.

"Mom?" Rachel questioned suddenly. "Do you love me?"

Shelby was slightly taken aback. "Of course I do sweetie."

"It's just…my dads, they said that you never wanted me. That all you wanted was the money" Rachel muttered quietly. Hearing those words hurt Shelby; they hurt her a lot. She shook her head.

"Rachel, what happened 18 years ago was very complicated" Shelby said carefully.

"Just tell me!" Rachel snapped, starting to get upset. Shelby had never spoken with Rachel about what had happened all those years ago. She would rather forget about it, but now it seemed that she would have to tell Rachel the truth.

Shelby sighed. "I'll be honest Rach, at first I did it for the money. What they were offering was enough for me to live in New York for 2 years." Rachel pulled away from her mom, and slid to the other side of the couch. "But as soon as I found out I was pregnant, everything changed" Shelby added quickly, sensing that she had hurt her daughter.

Rachel was staring at the ground, avoiding eye contact with Shelby. Maybe she had made a mistake; she thought that she had finally found somewhere she belonged, but it turned out her mom hadn't wanted her either.

"Rachel please look at me" her mom begged. "I tried to get out of the contract, I really did. I even hired a lawyer. But the contract that I'd signed meant that as soon as you were born, I had to hand you over to the Berry's and that I couldn't contact you until you turned 18." Shelby could feel herself starting to well up. "As soon as I saw your little face, I knew that we were meant to be together. I can't describe the love I felt for you, but there was nothing I could do. They took you from my arms and that was the last time I would see you for 18 years." Shelby looked over to see Rachel in tears, which only served to make Shelby cry as well.

Rachel didn't know what to make of it all. She could tell that her mom was genuinely upset, and she just wanted to hug her and tell her that everything was ok. But in the back of her mind, all she could think about was the fact that the only reason her mom fell pregnant with her was in order to make some money, not because she wanted a child.

Rachel stood up and glanced over to Shelby. "I'm sorry. I can't do this." Rachel walked quickly to her room and closed the door behind her, leaving her mom alone on the couch.

..

Shelby watched as her daughter left the room, before putting her head into her hands. She didn't even know how to begin processing what had happened that evening. She felt so many emotions, but at the same time, she also felt nothing. How had her life ended up like this? But what hurt Shelby the most was knowing that she had hurt her daughter. Shelby could deal with her own pain; but hurting Rachel was the last thing she ever wanted to do. She wanted to make this situation right; she wanted to help Rachel, but now her daughter didn't even want to be in the same room as her. Shelby could feel herself getting stressed and took a few deep breaths to try and calm herself down. She was pulled from her thoughts when she heard Beth whining in the next room. She got up slowly from the couch and headed into Beth's room.

Rachel lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling. She felt lost; she felt hopeless. She had so much on her mind that she couldn't concentrate, so she made her way over to her desk, picked up a pen and began to write.

Rachel glanced at her watch to see that she had been writing for well over an hour. She was feeling much more relaxed now, so she put down her pen and started trying to make sense of what had happened. Rachel had known for years that her mom was a surrogate, and that the Berry's had paid her, but hearing it from Shelby herself really made it hit home. But the first time they had met, Rachel felt a bond with Shelby that she had never felt before. She felt as if she finally belonged, as if she had finally found what had been missing in her life for all those years. Rachel knew deep down that her mom loved her. After all, if she didn't, she wouldn't have even bothered to contact her in the first place. Maybe this was the fresh start they both so desperately needed? Maybe this was the day when they could finally become a family?

Rachel opened her bedroom door and made her way slowly into the front room. She saw her mom lying on the couch with her eyes closed, cradling Beth in her arms.

"Mom" Rachel said softly. Shelby opened her eyes and turned her head to see Rachel standing next to her.

"Rach" Shelby replied with a small smile. She sat up gently, being careful not to disturb Beth who had fallen asleep in her arms. Rachel held her arms out, offering to take Beth to her crib. Rachel returned and sat down next to her mom, spotting her inhaler on the coffee table. Rachel sighed, she could tell that her mom was stressed out. This evening had been hard for Rachel, but it had been hard for her mom too.

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry" Rachel said apologetically. "Everything just got a bit much earlier; I just needed some space."

"I totally understand Rach" Shelby smiled. "I just want to make this right."

"I know you do mom, but you don't need to. We'll be alright, I think we needed this" Rachel replied. Shelby smiled at her daughter's maturity. She was so lucky to have such a wise and thoughtful daughter.

"I agree sweetie. This is our chance at a new start; a chance to let go of the past. Together."

"I'd like that" Rachel responded, giving her mom a smile. "I love you."

"I love you too baby" Shelby said, taking hold of Rachel's hand. "We'll get through this."

..

Rachel and her mom spent the evening chatting on the couch. Shelby had ordered pizza, which is something she never did, since she was one of those people who tried to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Rachel didn't mind though. After the day they'd had, they deserved some pizza!

"Rachel" Shelby said after finishing a slice of pizza.

"Yeah?" Rachel responded sweetly.

"We need to tell the police about what happened this evening" Shelby said firmly.

Rachel shook her head frantically. "No way. Mom, you don't understand."

"Sweetie, your dads need to be punished for what they've done" Shelby reasoned.

"We can't mom. They would go mental if they found out I went to the police" Rachel said in a panic. "Please mom!" she begged. "I don't want to think about what they'd do to me."

"Rachel, you're safe here. They won't be able to hurt you ever again."

"No." Rachel continued to shake her head. "They'll find me mom. And then they'd find you. I can't let that happened, especially because you have Beth."

Shelby could understand why her daughter was so scared. She'd spent years trapped with these monsters, with no way of escaping. But things were different now; she was here for Rachel, and she'd protect her. "Listen sweetie. I know you're scared, but I promise you that you're safe now" Shelby said gently.

"Please mom!" Rachel cried. "Please don't go to the police. Can we please just forget about it?" Shelby was torn. She could see that this was upsetting Rachel, but she so desperately wanted to do the right thing for her daughter. She wanted her to feel safe.

"Ok" Shelby conceded reluctantly after a moments thought. "But, I want to speak to them."

"What?!" Rachel exclaimed. "No. No way. You don't know them mom; they're monsters!"

"Rachel, trust me. I can look after myself" Shelby replied confidently. She'd spent her childhood looking after herself, so she was well used to it by now. "I just need to talk to them Rachel. I need to know why." Rachel really didn't like the idea of her mom going to see the Berry's, but she knew that there was no point in arguing since her mom's mind was already made up.

"Fine" Rachel said slowly. "But I'm coming with you."


	9. Doctor, Doctor

**I promise that this is the last chapter where Shelby is sick; I just needed to finish the storyline! Hopefully, you'll see her start to become stronger/more dominant soon, but she's been through a lot and has a lot go history which still needs to be explored. Thank you to everyone who reads/reviews/follows this story, it really does mean a lot. I hope you enjoy this update and any suggestions on what you'd like to see are welcome.**

Rachel woke up early the next morning, and took a glance at her phone to see what time it was. 6.38am. She smiled thankfully though when she remembered that it was Saturday. It had been a long week, and Rachel was just glad to finally have some time to relax. She led in bed for another half an hour, trying to make sense of the past few days. Her mom and her had been through a lot, but Rachel really did feel hopeful for the future.

After 10 more minutes of laying in bed, Rachel got up and made her way quietly into the kitchen to grab a glass of water. Just as she was about to sit down on the couch, she heard Beth starting to cry, so she quickly placed her glass on the coffee table and headed into Beth's room. The toddler was sat up in her crib, with tears forming in her eyes, trying to climb out. She looked up to see Rachel entering her room and instantly broke into a smile. Beth started gurgling and holding her arms out to Rachel, wanting to be picked up. Rachel willingly obliged and bent down to scoop Beth into her arms.

"Hey little one" she cooed. "Did you have a nice sleep?"

"Ya ya da" Beth replied, beaming at Rachel. Rachel laughed at Beth's attempted response and then planted a gentle kiss on her forehead, which caused Beth to giggle. Rachel was conscious of Shelby still sleeping in the room next door, so she carefully pulled Beth's door closed to try and avoid waking her mom. Rachel knew that Shelby wasn't sleeping well at night because of her cough, so she decided it was best to let her mom get as much rest as possible now that her cough had settled a little. Rachel spent the next hour and a half reading to Beth, trying to help her to say some basic words.

"Cat" Rachel said slowly as she pointed to a picture of a black and white kitten. Beth gave her a puzzled look, before attempting to imitate her older sister.

"Caa" she said, looking up at Rachel with a proud smile on her face.

"Nearly!" Rachel smiled. "Cat" she said again, urging Beth to copy.

Beth tried again. "Cat."

"Yes that's it. Well done Beth" Rachel beamed, giving her little sister a hug. "Can you say Mama?" Beth squinted at Rachel, trying to remember what she had just heard. "Mama" Rachel repeated softly.

"Ma-ma" Beth said with a smile. Rachel smiled back. "Mama" Beth said again, feeling very proud of herself. Rachel couldn't help but smile. When she had first found out that her mom was adopting Beth, she had hated the idea. She was angry at the thought of being replaced, and she was jealous. But as soon as she saw the bond that Shelby and Beth had, Rachel knew that they were meant to be together. And, Beth was the most adorable baby; it was impossible for anybody to dislike her. Rachel heard Beth's door opening, and turned to see her mom stood in the doorway.

"MAMA!" Beth exclaimed proudly, hurrying along the floor until she arrived at Shelby's feet.

"Hey baby" Shelby smiled, picking Beth up and giving her a kiss. "Hey Rach."

"Hey mom" Rachel said cheerfully.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't realize it was so late! You should have woken me up" Shelby said apologetically.

"Mom, it's fine. You need the rest" Rachel explained. "Beth is no trouble, we've just been reading some stories, haven't we?"

"Yaa" Beth yelped, grinning at Rachel.

"Thank you sweetie" Shelby responded gratefully. "Do you want pancakes for breakfast?" she asked with a grin.

"Yes please" Rachel said sweetly.

..

Later that day, Shelby was helping Rachel to unpack her stuff, and sort out her room.

"I'm sorry it's not very big" Shelby sighed. When she had chosen the apartment, she had only expected it to be for her and Beth. Luckily she had a spare bedroom, albeit a very small one.

"Don't be silly mom. It's perfect." Rachel replied. "I don't have much stuff anyway!" Shelby watched on as Rachel emptied the contents of her suitcase onto the bed, along with the remainder of her clothes, which she had stuffed inside the holdall.

"Is that all that you have?" Shelby questioned.

Rachel looked sadly at her mom and nodded. "I had to leave a few things behind, but other than that, this is everything" she shrugged. " _They_ didn't believe in spending a lot of money" Rachel added bitterly.

"You wanna go shopping next weekend?" Shelby asked with a wry smile.

"Yeah, I'd like that" Rachel responded happily.

"I've got 18 years worth of birthdays to make up for" Shelby said jokingly, before turning to cough. She coughed heavily a few times, rubbing her hand on her aching chest. "I'll… be back" Shelby pushed out after her latest coughing fit had left her struggling to catch her breath. Rachel watched on as her mom walked dejectedly into her bedroom to fetch her inhaler.

"You good?" Rachel queried as Shelby returned a couple of minutes later.

"Yeah, thanks" Shelby nodded.

"You really need to go back to the doctor, you know" Rachel stated firmly. "I've seen you struggling this week. Mom please, you need to let them help you." Shelby thought that she had done quite a good job at hiding how sick she felt, but clearly that wasn't the case. She knew that Rachel was right, and that she needed to go back to the ER, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it. She couldn't stand hospitals.

"I know sweetie" Shelby conceded in defeat. "If I still feel rough tomorrow, I'll go."

"You need to" Rachel agreed. "You need to get better before going to speak to my dads. You can't go round there like this."

Shelby nodded her head. As much as it pained her to admit it, she knew that there was no way she'd be able to cope with confronting the Berry's feeling like this. Her throat hurt; her chest was tight; her ribs ached from coughing so much; and she was struggling to breathe properly. "I'll go tomorrow, I promise" she sighed.

Rachel gave her mom a smile, thankful that she had finally managed to talk some sense into her. She couldn't imagine how uncomfortable her mom must have been feeling all week, but until her mom admitted that she needed help, there was nothing Rachel could do for her. "I have a dance class at 1pm, I can drop you off at the ER on the way?" Rachel suggested, knowing full well that if it were left up to her mom, she wouldn't go.

"Thank you."

..

"Are you ok?" Rachel asked, as her mom sat tensely in the passenger seat beside her, fiddling with her purse.

"Yeah, fine" her mom replied briskly.

"You sure?" Rachel asked again, not convinced.

"I told you, I'm fine" Shelby snapped back. "Sorry" she said apologetically, realizing that she'd snapped at Rachel. Rachel decided that it was best to just leave her mom alone, since she was obviously stressed about something.

"Ok" Rachel replied, raising a hand in apology. They pulled up outside the ER a few minutes later, and Rachel watched on as Shelby just sat in her seat and stared at the entrance.

"Mom" Rachel prodded gently. Shelby snapped out of her daze. "Thanks for the ride sweetie" she smiled as she got out of the car.

"No worries" Rachel said, a little baffled by her mom's strange behavior. "See you later."

Shelby took a deep breath, before slowly heading into the ER with Beth propped on her hip. No sooner had she entered the hospital, her breathing started to pick up. She hated hospitals: the horrible smell that seemed to linger even after you'd left; the doctors and nurses all rushing around frantically. Everything about hospitals made Shelby feel panicked. Beth sensed Shelby's tension and started to whine.

"Shh sweetie, it's ok" Shelby said softly as she made her way over to the desk. The receptionist was a middle-aged woman with grey bobbed hair, and she gave Shelby a smile as she walked over.

"Hi, how can I help you today?" the receptionist asked cheerfully, giving Beth a grin. Beth stopped whining and started to giggle at the receptionist. Shelby smiled gratefully at the receptionist; at least Beth had calmed down. Unfortunately the same couldn't be said for Shelby who was getting more and more stressed the longer she was in the hospital.

"Urm…I'm not feeling too well. My asthma…" Shelby paused to cough a couple of times. "My asthma's not great at the moment, as you can probably tell!" Shelby finished, letting out a nervous laugh.

The receptionist gave Shelby a sympathetic smile. "Ok honey. I just need to take some details and I'll get you booked in. I have to warn you though, there may be a slight wait. We're very busy." Shelby felt her heart sink when she heard that they were busy. The quicker she could get out of there, the better. "But if you start to get really short of breath, be sure to let somebody know" the receptionist added kindly.

"No worries. Thank you" Shelby responded, putting on her best fake smile. The receptionist proceeded to take Shelby's details and book her in before indicating for her to take a seat in the packed waiting area. Shelby nodded thankfully, before making her way into the waiting room. There were no seats available so Shelby leant against the wall, with Beth in her arms.

Shelby had been waiting for around 15 minutes and Beth was starting to get heavy in her arms. Shelby shifted her gently into a more comfortable position and then rested her head against the wall and shut her eyes in an attempt to keep herself calm. She opened her eyes with a start when she felt somebody touch her shoulder.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. You're the asthmatic that came in last week aren't you?" Shelby looked round to see Tom standing beside her.

"Urm yeah. Hi" Shelby replied, unsure of what to say.

"It's Shelby isn't it?" Tom questioned. Shelby nodded. "Is everything ok?" Tom asked, sensing that she was stressed out.

"Yeah" Shelby breathed out. "I'm just not really a fan of hospitals; they bring back bad memories" she added, looking away in embarrassment, struggling to keep herself calm. Tom picked up on Shelby's anxiety and gestured for her to follow him. He led her round the corner, where she could take a seat and also have a little more privacy.

Tom sat down next to Shelby and placed a soothing hand on her back. "Hey, just relax. You're ok" he assured her.

She could feel her heart starting to beat faster in her chest as painful memories of her childhood continued to fill her head. Shelby remembered when she was younger, and the numerous times her neighbor had had to bring her to the hospital because she was struggling to breathe. Her parents were often away, but even if they were at home, they would refuse to believe that she was sick. Shelby had hated hospitals ever since. She'd spent years trying to erase the memories of her childhood from her head, but every time she found herself in a hospital, they would come flooding back.

"I..I can't be here" Shelby finally breathed out as she stood up with Beth. "I have to go."

Tom picked up on the change in Shelby's breathing and could see that she was getting increasingly worked up. "Hey, not so fast" he said gently taking hold of her hand. "Before you go, at least let me take a look at you?" Tom pleaded, with a concerned look on his face.

Shelby pulled her hand away from Tom's and turned towards the exit, coughing hard. "Honestly, there's no need… I'm fine. I just need to… get out of here" she responded, breathing heavily.

"Mam, excuse me!" the receptionist called as Shelby hurried past her on her way out of the hospital. "Mam, you really should stay here."

"It's alright Barbra" Tom said giving the receptionist a nod as he made his way after Shelby. "I've got it."

Tom arrived outside to find Shelby sitting on a bench, around 10 meters from the entrance, cradling Beth in her lap. Tom raised an eyebrow. "You didn't get very far" he joked, trying to get Shelby to relax. Shelby shot him a glare, before breaking into a small smile. "That's better" Tom said jollily, taking a seat beside her.

"Sorry. It's just hospitals… I can't." Shelby said quietly.

"Don't worry, it's fine" Tom reassured her, glad to see that her breathing had calmed down. "I still need to check you over though" he stated firmly. "And I can't do it out here."

"Honestly, I'm ok" Shelby responded trying to brush Tom off.

"Shelby, if you were ok, you wouldn't have come here in the first place" Tom stated, seeing right through her. "There's no point trying to hide it from me, I'm a doctor" he laughed. Shelby ignored him and just stared straight ahead, lost in her thoughts. There was no way she could go back into that hospital.

It was a rather chilly day in Lima, and Beth was starting to whine where she was getting cold. Tom could see that the cold was starting to affect Shelby too, as her coughing became more frequent. Tom sighed. "Look, I know you don't want to come back inside, but I really need to check you over. And it's freezing, you can't stay out here" Tom said, trying to get through to Shelby. Shelby turned to face him and he could see the fear in her eyes. "Listen, I'll be with you the whole time. You'll be ok, I promise." Shelby slowly nodded her head.

..

"So..." Tom said gently, as he signaled for Shelby to sit up on the bed. "Are you gunna tell me what's up?"

"This past week, I've been having a hard time breathing. I just can't shake this cough, and my…" Shelby paused to cough. "My asthma…" she pushed out before starting to cough again.

"Alright, you're ok. Just try and relax for me" Tom reassured Shelby as he gently rubbed her back until her coughing had subsided. Beth, who was sitting beside Shelby on the bed, was starting to get upset, so Tom scooped her up in his arms and gently bounced her up and down. "Hey, we're nearly done. We just need to make sure that mommy can breathe properly" Tom said softly to Beth, who was now fiddling with his stethoscope.

"Have you been taking the medication I gave you?" Tom questioned, turning back to look at Shelby. She nodded. "Good" Tom responded, as he carefully placed an oxygen monitor onto Shelby's finger, before putting Beth back onto the bed. Beth gazed up at her mom with an unsure expression on her face, so Shelby started gently playing with her hair to relax her.

"You're oxygen stats are quite low again" Tom pondered, looking at the device. "Are you having trouble breathing at the moment?" he questioned.

"A little" Shelby admitted quietly.

Tom nodded. "I need to take a listen to your chest."

"Ok" Shelby smiled, carefully rolling up her top a little. Tom made his way behind Shelby before placing the stethoscope against her back. Shelby squirmed, which drew a laugh from both Tom and Beth. "Sorry, it might be a little cold" Tom said chuckling.

"Yeah thanks for the warning" she replied sarcastically.

Tom smiled to himself. "Ok, deep breath for me please" he said, and listened as Shelby took a breath. "One more for me" he said, wincing when he heard how wheezy Shelby sounded. "Ok, I lied. One more please" Tom said cheekily, even managing to draw a small laugh from Shelby, which caused her to cough again. "Sorry!" Tom said raising a hand in apology.

"I think you're going to need to go on the nebulizer again. You're still sounding very congested. Hopefully, it should help to relax your airways so that you can breathe easier." Shelby gave Tom a small smile and nodded as she leant back against the bed. "I'm going to take a look at your asthma meds as well, to see if there's anything that might work better for you" Tom added thoughtfully.

"Thanks" Shelby said as Tom passed her the mouthpiece of the nebulizer.

..

After two treatments, Shelby's stats were back to normal and she was feeling a lot better.

"Can I please leave this place now?!" Shelby asked desperately.

Tom looked at her with a hurt expression on his face. "Oh I see, you can't wait to get away from me!" he said in a serious tone.

"No, no! That's not what I meant" Shelby protested.

Tom broke into a smile. "I know, I was joking!" Shelby glared at him before breaking into a smile herself. "But yes, you're free to go. I've written you a prescription for another course of steroids and a different preventer inhaler that I'd like to try you on" Tom added, handing her the script. "Hopefully, that should keep you out of here for a while!" he laughed, although he was slightly upset at the idea of not seeing Shelby again.

"I really hope so! Thank you so much" Shelby replied gratefully.

"You're very welcome" Tom smiled. "How are you two getting home?"

Shelby hadn't really given it any thought until now. She took a look at her watch and saw that it was already 4pm. Rachel's dance class had finished over an hour ago, so she would be settled at home by now, and Shelby didn't want to bother her. "We'll probably just get a cab" Shelby said casually.

That was exactly the response that Tom had been hoping for; this was his chance. "Look, I'm finished for the day. How about I drop you home?" he asked.

Shelby raised an eyebrow. "Really?" she questioned. "You don't have to do that."

"Of course. I'd like to" Tom smiled.

"Ok" Shelby conceded, slightly taken aback by the doctor's kind gesture. "Thanks" she smiled.

Tom drove Shelby and Beth back to Shelby's apartment complex, and even took the elevator with them up to her apartment to make sure that they got home safely.

"Thanks again" Shelby smiled as she opened her front door.

"No problem at all" Tom replied cheerfully. "I just hope that you feel better real soon" he smiled. "Look, I was wondering, did you maybe want to go for a coffee or something when you're feeling up to it?" he added hopefully.

Shelby's eyes grew wide in disbelief. Did her doctor really just ask her to go for a coffee? He certainly wasn't shy. But he seemed like a nice guy, so Shelby couldn't see any harm in going out for a coffee with him. "Sure" she replied softly.

"Great!" Tom exclaimed, a little too enthusiastically, causing both him and Shelby to laugh. "Urm, here's my number" he said shyly, handing Shelby a card.

Shelby laughed. "Thanks" she said. "I'll give you a call when I'm feeling better."

Tom smiled. "I look forward to it. Take care of yourself."

"You too" Shelby replied sweetly as she made her way into her apartment and shut the door. She looked over to the couch to see Rachel in hysterics.

"What just happened?!" Rachel chuckled. "Did you seriously just get asked on a date by your doctor? Wooow!" Rachel said, before bursting out laughing again.

"It appears so!" Shelby shook her head, although she could see the funny side of the situation.

"You are definitely going!" Rachel exclaimed. "He's fit! And doctors make a lot of money too!"

"Rachel!" Shelby scolded, before starting to laugh herself.

"What?!" Rachel protested. "You know it's the truth!" she added giving her mom a cheeky grin. "Anyway, how are you feeling now?"

"Well I can actually breathe, so that's promising I guess" Shelby laughed. "And Tom gave me some more medication, so hopefully that should sort me out" she added in a more serious tone.

"That's good" Rachel smiled. "I was starting to get sick of you coughing all the time!" she joked.

"You better watch it young lady" Shelby warned.

"I'm joking mom" Rachel said quickly, moving closer to give her mom a hug. "I'm really glad that you're starting to feel better" she smiled. "Especially considering it's sectionals tomorrow!"


	10. Sectionals

**I've finally managed to get the next chapter up! Sorry about the long wait, but life's been a little crazy recently. I've got exams coming up so probably won't be uploading much in the next couple of months, but I'll be back in the summer. Thanks to everybody for sticking with it, and I hope you enjoy the update.**

"Is everybody here?" Mr. Schue called loudly from the front of the bus, trying to get the attention of the New Directions who all looked as if they were half-asleep. There were a few groans from the group, before the bus fell back into silence. "Come on guys, it's sectionals today!" Will exclaimed in another attempt to pull the glee club out of their early morning daze.

"It's too early" Santana whined placing an eye mask over her face, before resting her head on Brittany's shoulder. Will shook his head. Sensing that he wasn't going to get much more of a response from the rest of them, Will signaled to the bus driver that they were ready to leave and took a seat next to Shelby at the front of the bus. Shelby gave Will a small smirk as he sat down.

"What?!" he exclaimed.

"She's got a point" Shelby laughed. "The competition doesn't start until 12pm and it's only an hour journey."

"So?" Will responded, slightly perplexed.

"So…why are we leaving at 7am?" Shelby countered.

"I like to arrive in plenty of time" Will protested. "We need time to warm up, and run through the routines a couple of times" he added, trying to defend himself.

"Somehow I don't think that will take 4 hours" Shelby responded sarcastically, smirking at Will.

"Well we need to allow for traffic" he snapped back. "And any mishaps should they arise." Shelby held her hands up, sensing that she was starting to get to him. She contemplated carrying on because she was finding it rather amusing, but she decided it would be best if she dropped it.

"You're the boss!" she smiled. She liked to let Will think that he was in charge, but in reality it was her that pulled all the strings. After all, it was her idea to do original music at sectionals, and she had come up with the choreography as well. It was just a shame that she hadn't called the bus company to arrange for a later pick-up, she thought to herself as a yawn slipped out.

"Oh don't you start as well!" Will moaned. "It's going to be hard enough waking that lot up when we get there; I can't have you falling asleep too."

"Hey. I haven't slept properly this past week" Shelby protested defensively. "I'm allowed to be tired."

Will rolled his eyes. "Whatever!"

A few rows behind them Rachel was sat with Puck, with his hand resting on her leg. Rachel was probably the only one, apart from Mr. Schue, who was actually awake and functioning. She couldn't understand what all the fuss was about; she got up at this time every day.

"I'm so looking forward to this" Rachel said excitedly.

"Hmmm?" Puck groaned, as his eyelids flickered open.

"Noah! You weren't falling asleep on me were you?"

"No, of course not Rach" he smiled back, rubbing his eyes. "Remind me of what you were saying?"

Rachel laughed. "I said that I'm really looking forward to today."

"Oh yeah, me too" Puck responded. "I can't wait to hear your solo" he added given Rachel a smile.

"Really?" she replied, unable to hide the grin on her face.

"Yep! You're going to be awesome" he said softly, planting a small kiss on her lips.

"Ewww! Get a room you two" Kurt exclaimed in mock disgust. This caused a few laughs from the rest of the bus, who clearly weren't as asleep as Mr. Schue had thought. Rachel could feel her face turning red in embarrassment.

"What if I don't want to?!" Puck said cheekily, before turning back to Rachel and planting another kiss onto her lips, and moving his hand slowly up her thigh.

"Noah, stop!" she exclaimed, giggling. "My mom's over there" she whispered quickly.

"Fine" he sighed, giving her another quick peck. "Later though" he whispered, winking cheekily at Rachel.

She smiled, shaking her head. "You're so bad!"

..

After waiting around for over 3 hours thanks to Mr. Schue's eagerness and the early start, it was finally time for the New Directions to start warming up. They were the first group to perform, so had to be ready for 12pm sharp. Mr. Schue was rushing around their small warm-up room in a fluster trying to make sure that everybody was doing what they were supposed to be. Shelby just stood to one side watching the chaos. Preparations with the New Directions really were a stark contrast to those that she had experienced with Vocal Adrenaline. With VA, she'd just stand back and watch as the group conducted their own warm-ups, before flawlessly running through their numbers. She sensed that the New Directions maybe needed a little steering in the right direction.

Shelby placed her fingers into her mouth and whistled loudly. Everybody stopped. Shelby laughed. "Now that I've got your attention, how about we go through some warm-up exercises together, as a group." Santana was about to object, but Shelby raised a hand to stop her before she could speak. "It wasn't a question Santana" she said curtly. "Now, listen up. Since we're going to be performing some pretty intense choreography, it's vital that our bodies are ready." Rachel listened and watched on admirably as her mom took the group through some stretches and various other warm up exercises.

Shelby indicated for the group to go and get some water before making her way over to Rachel. "Rach, I need you to take them through a vocal warm-up."

Rachel looked up at her mom. "Urm…me?" she questioned.

Shelby smiled and nodded. "Yes, you! I can't do it, my chest's still not quite right" Shelby said softly, gently rubbing her chest. "You'll be fine, I've heard you do it so many times before" she added reassuringly.

Rachel still wasn't convinced. "I've always done it alone. I've never done it with anybody. They won't listen to me anyway" she concluded dismissively.

"They'll listen sweetie, trust me" Shelby smiled. "Ok everybody!" she called. "Now, Rachel is going to take you all through some vocal exercises." Everybody in the room just nodded in agreement, still shocked into silence by Shelby's sudden change of character; they'd never seen this side of Shelby before. Rachel made her way sheepishly to the front of the room and begun to take the group through some exercises.

"Wow" Will breathed out as he made his way over to stand beside Shelby. "I have to say, I'm impressed" he admitted.

Shelby rolled her eyes. "I don't know why you're surprised. I'm not a two-time national champion for no reason, you know" she laughed. Will shook his head and allowed himself a slight chuckle. "You're not wrong" he mused.

..

 _Your words in my head, knives in my heart,_

 _You build me up and then I fall apart,_

 _Cause I'm only human._

Shelby wiped away a stray tear, before standing up alongside Will to applaud Rachel's solo which brought the New Directions' performance to an end. Rachel glanced over to see her mom beaming as the rest of the glee club joined her on the stage. Rachel smiled, sensing that she had done her mom proud. The group took a bow before exiting the stage and making their way into the audience to join Will and Shelby.

"I'm so proud of you" Shelby whispered as Rachel took the seat directly in front of her.

Rachel turned to give her mom a smile. "Thank you."

The New Directions sat patiently and watched on as the two other glee clubs gave rather mediocre performances. Finally it was time for the awards ceremony.

"And first place goes to… THE NEW DIRECTIONS"

Will and Shelby made their way over to collect the trophy, lifting it high in air, which was greeted by a chorus of cheers from the New Directions and the audience.

"This victory means that the New Directions have earned their place at the National Show Choir Championships in Houston, Texas" the rather over-excited announcer screamed into the microphone.

"We're going to nationals baby" Puck said as he planted a kiss on Rachel's lips.

"I can't wait!" Rachel grinned, as she started to follow Puck off of the stage. They followed the rest of the New Directions back to their holding room, where the celebrations continued.

"Hey Berry, I'm holding a party at my place this evening to celebrate. You wanna come along?" Santana said approaching Rachel.

Rachel looked a little uncertain and glanced over at Puck. "Yes, lover boy is invited too" Santana laughed, rolling her eyes. Puck gave Rachel a nod.

"Sure, we'll come" Rachel said politely, somewhat shocked that she had even been invited. Usually the only time Santana spoke to her was to make fun of her.

"Great, see you at 8" Santana replied. "Oh, and it's bring your own alcohol."

"Urm…ok" Rachel replied sheepishly. "We'll see you later then."

"You don't drink do you?" Puck questioned quietly after Santana had left.

Rachel looked down in embarrassment. "Not really" she admitted.

"Don't worry about it" Puck replied casually. "I don't really drink that much either. I'll look out for you."

..

Puck picked Rachel up from outside Shelby's apartment building just before 8pm. "You look amazing" Puck said softly as Rachel got into his truck.

"Thank you" Rachel responded with a shy smile, fiddling with her hair.

Puck could tell that Rachel was a little tense. "We don't have to go if you don't want to Rach. Nobody is forcing you to go."

"No, I want to" Rachel assured him. "I've just never really been to a house party before, that's all."

"That's alright. Just stick with me, and you'll be fine" Puck said gently, giving Rachel a reassuring smile. "Besides, everyone will be too drunk to remember it the next morning anyway!"

Rachel laughed. "Yeah, I guess."

The pair arrived at Santana's house after the short drive across town. They were greeted by an already drunk Santana. "Hey Rachel!" Santana slurred as she made her way unsteadily over to Rachel and attempted to hug her.

"Hey" Rachel replied cautiously.

"Welcome to mi casa. It's beautiful. Your beautiful" Santana muttered, before stumbling and almost ending up in the hedgerow. Luckily Puck managed to grab a hold of her arm and stop her from falling completely. "Oh gracias, kind chico" Santana said gazing into Puck's eyes. Thankfully, Brittany appeared in the doorway and quickly made her way over to the three of them.

"Hey guys" she said jovially, giving them both a hug. "Come on Sanny, let's get back inside" she said gently, taking hold of Santana's arm. Santana attempted to resist but was in no fit state to do so, so allowed herself to be led inside by Brittany.

"Wow, she's so drunk!" Rachel exclaimed, turning to face Puck.

"Tell me about it!" Puck replied, shaking his head. "Anyway, it's freezing out here. Let's get inside" he added, taking Rachel by the hand. The two of them made their way inside and were greeted by the rest of the glee club: Kurt and Blaine, Mercedes, Sam, and Quinn. Rachel gave Quinn a small, and somewhat fake smile before heading across to the opposite side of the room with Puck.

"I didn't know she was invited" Rachel said scornfully, glancing over in Quinn's direction.

"Come on Rach. I know you two don't get on, but please try and be civil." Rachel was about to snap back when Puck spoke again. "Please. For me?" he added gently, looking to Rachel with questioning eyes.

She smiled, unable to resist his charm. "Fine. But only for you" she giggled, giving him a small peck. The two of them danced and hung out with the rest of the New Directions for the next few hours.

"Hey love birds, we're going to play a drinking game. Are you gonna come join in?" Blaine called over.

"No thanks. I'm driving" Puck replied.

"How about you Rach?" Puck prodded.

"Urm..I don't think…"

"Oh come on! Don't be a bore!" Kurt teased.

Rachel thought for a moment. She didn't want to be boring, and she'd never played a drinking game before. It could be quite fun after all.

"I'm in!" she replied.

"Rach are you sure?" Puck asked concerned.

"Yeah, it'll be fun" she said innocently. Puck knew that this would probably end very badly, but there was nothing that he could say that was going to change Rachel's mind, so the best he could do was just keep an eye on her.

The game had been going on for around 25 minutes and Rachel had already consumed quite a significant quantity of alcohol. "I need to wee!" Rachel shouted loudly, attempting to get up from where she had been sat in Puck's lap. No sooner had she stood up, she felt herself lose her balance and ended up landing on top of Puck.

"Ok, that's enough" Puck said sternly. "Come on Rachel. I think it's time that we got you home."

Rachel looked round at Puck with a confused expression on her face. "But I don't want to go home daddy" Rachel whined. "Why are you spoiling my fun?" she screamed, getting more and more agitated.

Puck could tell that Rachel was very drunk and very confused. He gently rubbed her shoulder in an effort to calm her down. "Baby, look at me. It's Noah. I'm not your dad" he said gently, trying to get through to Rachel.

"Noah?" she questioned. "I want to sleep."

Puck sighed. "I know you do, Rach. Come on, I'll take you home." Puck helped to steady Rachel as she stood up, before carefully guiding her to the toilet, so that they didn't have any accidents on the way home. Within about two minutes of getting into the truck, Rachel was beginning to feel sick.

"I'm gonna be sick" Rachel moaned suddenly. Puck wound down Rachel's window just in time for her to lean over the side of the car and throw up out of the window. Puck stopped the car at the side of the road, before getting out and making his way round to the passenger door. He managed to get Rachel out of the car and held her hair back as she threw up for a second time.

"I feel awful" she whined.

"You don't look too hot either Rach" Puck replied, grabbing a bottle of water from his truck. "Here, try and drink this. It will help you feel better."

..

Around 30 minutes later they finally made it back to Shelby's place, after having to stop again for Rachel to be sick. "Rach, where's your key?" Puck questioned gently once they had reached Shelby's front door.

"What key?" Rachel said rather loudly.

"Your door key. Is it in your purse?" Puck prodded.

"I don't know" Rachel replied, almost falling into the closed door. Puck quickly grabbed her before she could make too much noise.

"Can I have a look?" Puck asked.

"Of course!" Rachel shouted happily.

"Rach, you need to be quiet" Puck urged, glancing at his watch. It was 1.30am. "Shelby and Beth will be asleep."

"Shhhh!" Rachel said softly, placing her hand to her lips.

"Yes, that's it" Puck responded, giving Rachel a small smile as he pulled her key from her purse. He opened the door, and quietly guided Rachel into the apartment. "Right, you need to get to bed" Puck whispered.

"Why are you whispering?" Rachel enquired loudly. "I can't hear you!" Puck placed his head into his hand, almost certain that Rachel had woken both Shelby and Beth up. His suspicions were confirmed almost instantaneously as he heard Beth start to wail, startled by the sudden noise.

"Rach" he protested. "I told you that you needed to be quiet."

Rachel looked at him with wide eyes. "I forgot" she sulked. Puck was about to go and see to Beth, when he saw an irritated-looking Shelby appear in the doorway.

"Nice one guys" she muttered sarcastically, not even looking at them, as she headed into Beth's room to try and get her back to sleep.

"She seems mad" Rachel slurred.

"I don't blame her!" Puck exclaimed. "You woke them both up Rach. That's why I told you to be quiet."

Rachel looked towards the floor. "I'm sorry" she sighed quietly.

"Let's just get you into bed" Puck insisted, taking Rachel by the arm and leading her towards her bedroom. Rachel crashed almost as soon as she got into bed, so Puck went and fetched her a glass of water from the kitchen, placing it on her nightstand, before turning off the light and exiting the room. Puck could hear Shelby in the next room still desperately trying to get Beth to settle. He gently pushed open the door.

"Shelby, I'm so, so sorry. I tried to tell Rach to be quiet, but she's so drunk."

"I can see that" Shelby snapped back sharply, still annoyed that she'd been woken up.

"As soon as I saw how drunk she was, I brought her straight home" Puck protested, trying to defend himself. Shelby knew that it wasn't Puck's fault and that he had done his best to look after Rachel.

"I know. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you. Thank you for getting her home Noah" Shelby responded gratefully, giving him a small smile.

Puck smiled back at Shelby. "I should get going" he said quickly. "See you later Shelby" he added, grabbing his keys and making his way out of the apartment.

After what seemed like hours, Beth finally fell back to sleep, so Shelby set her down in her crib before quietly checking on Rachel. The teenager was asleep on top of the bed sheets, still wearing the clothes she had been wearing earlier that evening, with her hair tied back into a messy bun. Shelby wanted to be mad at Rachel for getting herself into such a state, but she knew that she herself had been in that position many times as a teenager. She watched her daughter for a couple of minutes before making her way back to her own bed to get some much-needed sleep.

..

Shelby wearily opened her eyes and glanced at her cell to check the time. It was 5.48am. She could hear Rachel wretching in the bathroom, so sighing, she pulled herself out of bed and made her way into the bathroom. Sure enough, Rachel was leant over the toilet, feeling sorry for herself. She didn't hear her mom enter the bathroom, so she jumped slightly when she felt someone rubbing her back. She turned to see her mom crouched beside her.

"I thought you were mad at me?" Rachel questioned sadly.

"I am. But that doesn't mean I won't take care of you. I'm still your mom" Shelby replied warmly.

"Mom, I'm sorry" Rachel whined. "I feel dreadful."

Shelby couldn't help but laugh. "That will be the wonders of alcohol Rach!"

"I'm never drinking again!" Rachel stated firmly.

"That's what they all say" her mom laughed.


End file.
